WINNER, 2023 Alcuin Society Book Design Awards | Third Place (tied) - Reference

A concise, full-colour guide to more than 200 native and introduced plant and animal species found in Vancouver’s famed city park.

Vancouver’s Stanley Park is known around the world as a natural oasis in the midst of western Canada’s largest city. Unlike many urban parks, which are mostly cultivated, the 1,000-acre area now known as Stanley Park is part of the natural rainforest of this region. As much of this natural habitat has been preserved as parkland, Stanley Park is an accessible place to observe much of the native plant and animal life that can be found throughout the south coast of British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest.

The Flora and Fauna of Stanley Park is a practical and colourful keepsake, highlighting more than 200 trees, shrubs, wildflowers, berries, seaweeds, birds, land mammals, and shoreline creatures. With clear colour photography, detailed descriptions, etymology, and safety tips and warnings, this book is the perfect go-to guide for visitors to the park, and anyone interested in the rich biodiversity of the Vancouver area and beyond.

Collin Varner is a horticulturalist/arboriculturalist. Over his forty-year career, he worked at the University of British Columbia’s Botanical Garden, assumed responsibility for conserving 25,000 trees across campus, and taught courses in native plant studies. Now retired, Varner is an avid photographer, world traveller, and bestselling author of The Flora and Fauna of Coastal British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest, Edible and Medicinal Flora of the West Coast, Invasive Flora of the West Coast, and The Flora and Fauna of Stanley Park.

Collin Varner's profile page

"Leafing through The Flora and Fauna of Stanley Park is like going for a walk with someone who loves the park. From the wildflowers at your feet to the towering trees and everything in between: Collin Varner knows them . . . and he’s happy to make introductions!"
—Ariel Gordon, author of Treed: Walking in Canada’s Urban Forests

"Through clear photographs and compact descriptions, The Flora and Fauna of Stanley Park expands my knowledge of the park, especially its herbaceous plants, ferns, songbirds, and waterfowl. As a frequent park visitor, I often wonder, 'What bird is that?' Now, I have answers."
—Nina Shoroplova, author of Legacy of Trees: Purposeful Wandering in Vancouver's Stanley Park

“This field guide provides a practical and enjoyable place to start learning about the plants, animals, and fungi of Vancouvers’ Stanley Park. Its beautifully illustrated pages are filled with practical information presented clearly. I recommend this book for anybody wishing to walk down the park’s verdant pathways with a desire to see and learn.”
—Bill Stephen, Urban Forestry Superintendent (ret.), Vancouver Park Board

"This compact guidebook will be useful for both residents and visiting nature-lovers. [...] The inclusion of viewing locations is a particularly nice feature.”
—Teresa Gagné, co-chair Nature Vancouver Botany Committee