Mt.

“WHAT*
Jack?”

THAT. Uncle

By John Moore

Contributing Writer

“Er, well, it's, FE think, that is

Taking a couple of curious kids
for a hike in the local mountains
can be a profoundly humbling
experience. Despite a smattering
of knowledge of lacal flora and
fauna gained in some years of
bushwhacking, their relentless
questions abeut plants, rock and
wildlife never fail to leave me ata
loss for words and with a sharper
awareness of my own lamentable
ignorance about the natural envi-
ronment.

.With a sigh of relief. I noted
B.C. Parks has revived its summer
Visitor Program at Mt. Seymour
Provincial Park, offering family-
oriented guided nature walks every
Sunday until Sept. 28, under the
direction of nuturalist Al Grass.

Nephews in tow. | hooked up
with Grass on a recent Sunday and
let him do the talking. (Word is
oul — these walks are popular.)

Grass, a 26-year veteran of the
parks service. is never at a loss for
words in the woods. With a dozen
of us, plus strays picked up on the
trail, attracted by the voice of
someone who knows what he's
talking about, we made quite a
party, pausing to listen to the flute-
like calls of hermit thrushes and
inspect —sometimes gigantic,
scmetimes minute — varieties of

preducts
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otter ends

Seymour guided natu

Nature’s garden

Bae : ‘.
Phote John Moore

B.C. PARKS naturalist Al Grass (with backpack) leads a group through the fauna and foliage of
Mt. Seymour Park on a recent Sunday afternoon. The park offers quided walks on Sundays.

vegetation pointed out by Grass.
Nature shows off her skills as a
landscape gardener in the alpine as
nowhere else. and Mt. Seymour
Provincia) Pask is an excellent and
accessible venue to observe them.
Venerable old-growth yellow

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cedar (a.k.a. yellow cypress) and
firs dominate. (the alpine areas of
Seymour were never logged).
while the undergrowth is a riot of
delicate ground-cover: pink and
white mountain heather, false aza-
lea, “Queen's cup.” Indian helle-

bore with its succulent leaves
grooved to draw water down into
the plant, varieties of blueberry
and huckleberry.

(A huckleberry is actually a red
blueberry, and if you want to pur-
sue that argument, call Al Grass,

lorth Shor

re walks reveal secrets of alpine wildlife

Not me.)

Vegetation was the “theme” of
our particular walk, Grass starts
each walk wath a different theme
(geology, wildlife, pond life, ete.)
but cheerfully digresses at the drop
of a question. He thrives on
inquiry. a couple who'd obviously
“read the books,” and let him
know it, only made him more val-
uble and informative.

“L love talking to people. espe-
cially children,” Grass says, “If
they learn about nature, ! feel it
gets them on our side, They'll
appreciate and take better care of
our wonderful parks.”

The Sunday nature walks at Mt.
Seymour take about 1% hours,
starting at 1:30 p.m., ending at 3
p.m.. and depart from the main
notice-board/washroom area. Just
show up; bring a snack, or lunch
and make a day of it, You don't
need heavy hiking boots: the walks
take the easier trails, but wear sen-
sible walking shoes.

(You may also want to dab the
bug-repellent of your choice
behind your eats. The ponds and
small lakes of Seymour's gentle
summit make it a prime habitat for
the unofficial bird of B.C. -— the
Mosquito.)

Like many other provincial
parks, Seymour also offers-a
“Jerry's Rangers” program of chil-
dren's events each Sunday morn-
ing from 10:30 until noon. If you
bring lunch, you'll be able to catch
the 1:30 nature walk and make a
full Sunday of it. ;

For more information, cali B.C.
Parks at 924-2200.

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