Welcome to the 16th Annual Osprey Festival!

A unique celebration of shared lands and cultures in North Vancouver
Days
Hours
Minutes

The Osprey Festival is a platform for the general public to learn about reconciliation-in-action with the Tsleil-Waututh Nation. The Festival features plant and bird walks, local and national-touring musical acts on an outdoor stage, tasty festival food, a children’s zone, and visual arts.

Located in the heart of unceded lands of the Tsleil-Waututh, the Nature House at Maplewood Flats serves as the Festival hub, with a main stage near the trail entrance, and programming activities located across the 311-acre site.

 

This year, the festival spans 2 days to include the 3rd annual "Indigenous Knowledge for Climate Change Action Symposium"

Connect with leading edge scientists, landscape architects, Indigenous knowledge keepers, and climate activists who are explore the application of Indigenous Knowledge on sea-level rise issues with particular focus on Burrard Inlet. By centering climate solutions with Indigenous Knowledge, we can effectively apply both a justice lens and a science lens to this crisis. In this symposium, we will consider local and global impacts of climate change on sea-level rise, explore actions and innovations being taken, understand how Indigenous Knowledge is guiding solutions, and consider landscape architecture alternatives on the site. Public policy on climate change adaptation must include education and orientation to practical local solutions. Hear from a wide range of professionals and academics address sea-level rise here in Coast Salish lands and waters. Speakers will be present in the Nature House.

The Osprey Festival and Symposium are FREE,* all are welcome!

Location: 2649 Dollarton Hwy, North Vancouver (Map)

*Most activities of the Festival do not require tickets, but the Canoe Paddle, Symposium virtual attendance and Film Screening+Feast have limited capacity and require registration. See below for links to RSVP. 

Day 1

Saturday, August 17, 11am - 4pm
Indigenous Knowledge for Climate Change Action Symposium
Pre-event Activities

9 – 10:30am | Paddling together for the future of Maplewood Flats – Ocean-going Canoe Paddle of the Inlet (Tickets required, 10 years +) Buy Tickets: bit.ly/OspreyFest16

Location: meet/return at Whey-ah-Wichen boat launch

10 – 11am | Guided Plant and Bird Walk with Senaqwila Wyss (no ticket required)

Symposium

11 – 11:15am | Session 1:  Opening Remarks

MC Kayah George (Artist-in-Residence) and Karen Thomas (WBT President)

11:15 – 11:45am | Session 2: Our Grandmother The Inlet exhibition – Kayah George introduction to Our Grandmother The Inlet exhibition and Tsleil-Waututh views on climate change.

11:45 12:30pm | Session 3: Coast Salish responses to Climate Change

12:30 – 1pm | Lunch

1-2pm | Session 4: Development of a Sea-level Rise Strategy at Maplewood – Living with Water Project researchers from UBC Benjamin Eisenberg (Project Lead), Sam Kohlmann and Diego Lozano have been supporting our sea-level rise strategy development including ecological zone /plant communities mapping, and planting strategies for Maplewood Flats this summer.

2 – 2:45pm | Session 5: Walking TogetherDiscussion and dialogue on Priorities for a Sea-level Rise Strategy at Maplewood

2:45-3:30pm | Closing Walk – Climate Adaptive Planting Walk (no ticket required)

Day 2

Sunday, August 18, 10am - 8pm
Osprey Festival

10 & 11am | Guided Plant Walk with Senaqwila Wyss (no ticket required)
12 – 1pm | Music at Maplewood Flats, all ages (no ticket required)

1-4pm | A future at Maplewood Flats (no ticket required)

Session 1 | 1-2:30pm | Putting the face of Tsleil-Waututh on the land. Tourism and education at MWF.

Session 2 | 2:30 – 3:30pm | Mountains to Mudflats: Protecting the Wildlife Corridor at McCartney Creek.

*Snacks and refreshments provided

5-8pm | Free Community Film Screening & Feast, Our Grandmother The Inlet (Registration required, by donation; Free for TWN members)

An award-winning Tsleil-Waututh film directed by Kayah George and Jaime Leigh Gianopoulos.

Join us for a prayer and feast followed by singing, drumming, poetry, then a panel featuring Amy George, Rueben George, and directors Kayah George, and Jaime Leigh Gianopoulos following the short film screening.

Exhibition at the Nature House

Our Grandmother the Inlet

Kayah George and Jaime Leigh Gianopoulos

August 10 - September 12, 2024
Saturdays & Sundays, 11:00 am - 3:00 PM
This summer’s exhibit at the Nature House showcases a hybrid documentary film shot on location at Maplewood Flats. The exhibit and film explore the lives of Kayah George, a young Indigenous woman, and her grandmother Ta7a, the daughter of the renowned Chief Dan George. Delving into their ancestral lineage, the film takes you on a poignant journey as it highlights the significance of Kayah’s deep connection to water, revered in the Tsleil-Waututh Nation as their oldest grandmother and the birthplace of creation. Amidst the backdrop of industry dominance, the film sheds light on the mental health challenges faced by Indigenous youth and their enduring spirit of gentle reclamation as they strive to reconnect with their culture, water, and land as kin and relatives.

On the Trails

Wander at your own pace to our three nature stations along the trails, where you can observe birds and other wildlife at Maplewood Flats. Free scopes and observation stations host skilled birders and naturalists sharing knowledge at Osprey Point and the Mudflats.

Osprey Point Station

Visit the poets and artists performing at Osprey Point.

Use a scope to spot one of Burrard Inlet’s rare predatory osprey. These birds are living proof of the effectiveness of conservation and restoration efforts to help species at risk.

Mudflats Nature Station

Visit our knowledgeable volunteers at the Mudflats Nature Station facing the Tsleil-Waututh village site. Come have a closer look at the ecologically unique mudflats landscape, and learn about Ocean Hyland’s public artwork.

Kids Activities

10am-4pm - Picnic tables near greeter hut

Children’s Activities include a Word Search, Scavenger Hunt and colouring drawings by Ocean Hyland (Tsleil-Waututh) and Ronnie Dean Harris (Sto’lo, St’at’imc, and Nlaka’pamux) featuring birds, plants, mushrooms and animals of the region, as well as Hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ language.

Festival Food

10am-2pm - Picnic tables near greeter hut

Grab some delicious festival food. Eat with your family on the picnic benches behind our Nature House.

Coast Salish Plant Nursery

10am-4pm - Plant Nursery adjacent to the Nature Hourse

Visit our Coast Salish Plant Nursery behind the Greeter’s Hut on-site. We have a wide variety of native plants for sale for summer planting at your home.

#OspreyFest15 #MaplewoodFlats

Tag us with #OspreyFest15 and/or #MaplewoodFlats on photos and tweets you share of the event for a chance to win a draw prize of Maplewood Flats swag.

More about the performers, artists, poets, and storytellers

Murray Porter

Blues singer, songwriter and piano-man

Murray Porter has been telling the Aboriginal side of history for over 30 years, spreading his unique style of foot-stomping, hand clapping mix of country, blues and humor around the globe. The multi-talented, self-taught musician has drawn comparison to the likes of Dr. John, Joe Cocker and Delbert McClinton.

Halth-Leah Sla-holt (Ta7ah Amy George)

Elder, Grandmother-Tsleil-waututh nation
Elder Halth-Leah Sla-holt (Ta’ah Amy George) will share reflections on the life and legacy of her father, Chief Dan George. As part of Chief Dan George: Actor and Activist Exhibit at Maplewood Flats, Ta7ah Amy George will recite her father’s powerful Lament for Confederation, the famous speech he first delivered in 1967. Photo source for illustration: Stefan Labbé.

More about the performers, artists, poets, and storytellers

Murray Porter

Blues singer, songwriter and piano-man

Murray Porter has been telling the Aboriginal side of history for over 30 years, spreading his unique style of foot-stomping, hand clapping mix of country, blues and humor around the globe. The multi-talented, self-taught musician has drawn comparison to the likes of Dr. John, Joe Cocker and Delbert McClinton.

Halth-Leah Sla-holt (Ta7ah Amy George)

Elder, Grandmother-Tsleil-waututh nation
Elder Halth-Leah Sla-holt (Ta’ah Amy George) will share reflections on the life and legacy of her father, Chief Dan George. As part of Chief Dan George: Actor and Activist Exhibit at Maplewood Flats, Ta7ah Amy George will recite her father’s powerful Lament for Confederation, the famous speech he first delivered in 1967. Photo source for illustration: Stefan Labbé.

Go green! Take public transit.
Ride your bike, or carpool.

Maplewood Flats might seem far away, but it’s actually a very quick bus trip from East Vancouver
by taking bus #210 along Cordova and transferring at Phibbs Exchange to the #211 or #212.
It takes 35 minutes from Main Street to Maplewood Flats.

Check Translink Schedule for Bus

Seeking volunteers
for Osprey Festival

Help with membership/info table, children’s art-making station, parking, trail host, room set-up/clean-up, food service, A/V tech & more!

Sign up for a 2-4 hour shift.

 

Volunteer Sign-up

volunteer@wildbirdtrust.org

Thanks to our sponsors and partners
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Head Office

Wild Bird Trust of BC
Maplewood Flats, 2649 Dollarton Highway,
North Vancouver, BC, V7H 1B1
Unceded Tsleil-Waututh Territory

(2km from Second Narrows Bridge)
hours
Office: Monday to Friday 9am-5pm
Conservation Area: Open 24 hours

Contact

Phone

Phone : + 1 604-929-2379

corrigan nature house rentals

rentals@wildbirdtrust.org

Membership inquiries

membership@wildbirdtrust.org

volunteering

volunteer@wildbirdtrust.org