Tours and Study Guide
Self-Guided Tour of Community Art
We encourage you to walk along the Renfrew Ravine and experience all the community art installations that have been built with the collaboration of literally hundreds of neighbors and students.
The brochure is free for all to use and can be downloaded below.
Restoring the Creek
Both Still Creek and the Renfrew Ravine are dynamic ecosystems and are home to a variety of plants and animals. However the creek has been abused over the years and faces a number of major threats. Learn about the history of the ravine, the threats it faces, and what we can all do to help.
Elementary School Study Guide – “Not Just Passing Through”
Available Summer 2010 – Currently in Review
“Not Just Passing Through” is a study guide based in the Renfrew Ravine and produced by Still Moon Arts Society. It is available to the whole community and can be used by elementary school classes, community center groups, and many others.
The Study Guide investigates the ravine as both a destination and a corridor and deals to a varying degree with the issues of stream health, fish habitat, water infiltration and runoff, ecosystems, a changing land use and solutions through a number of hands on games and activities. The guide also includes background information on the ravine itself and all of the above issues so that anyone is able to gain the necessary information needed to present the materials to their students.
For more information please contact community.stillmoon@gmail.com
Excerpt:
Purpose
- The Renfrew Ravine is considered an “urban greenway” by the City of Vancouver, and while this designation is important for the conservation and enhancement of the ravine and the creek that runs through it, the words themselves fail to fully grasp the entirety of what the ravine represents.
- “Greenway” much like “highway” suggests movement, it suggests a corridor but not a destination. In a myriad of ways this description is correct. Humans travel alongside the ravine for recreation, exercise, and on their commutes to work and school. Migratory birds stop within the ravine’s borders to rest and seek shelter and the bubbling brook of Still Creek passes between the banks, on its journey to the Brunette River and eventually to the Pacific Ocean.
- However, in many other ways the inhabitants are “Not Just Passing Through.” The ravine is home to a diverse array of life that has managed to find home there. In more sinister ways, the humans who throw garbage onto the banks or pour chemicals into the storm sewers are “Not Just Passing Through” but each leave an indelible stamp on the ravine’s landscape, threatening the life that is at times struggling to take hold or maintain its hold.
- As Still Creek moves along its course, the water it carries brings dynamism to the ravine; leaving behind a legacy of plant and animal life. Unfortunately, the creek’s other legacies are the toxic chemicals and oils that are washed into it with every rainfall, improperly disposed of household cleaners, and the soap created with the washing of every car.
- We hope that these materials will introduce the idea that the Renfrew Ravine is not just a greenway but also a destination. Its a place you can ‘go’ to, not just pass through. With education and understanding we can begin to realize the importance of these urban oasis, the consequences of our actions and viable solutions.
