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Driving through Stanley Park one morning, Vancouver park board biologist Nick Page came across a bizarre scene. Cars were abandoned haphazardly along the roadside as a crowd of people ran toward the seawall.

“I thought there’d been an accident,” he recalled.

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In fact, a grey whale had been spotted in the water near Siwash Rock.

The incident confirmed an idea the park board had been working on, said Page. Parks shouldn’t only be about sports fields and recreation facilities, they should also be a place where people can experience nature.

“The more urban we get, the more people support and are captivated by what we have left,” he said. “Part of our role is to ask how we can better connect people with nature. How do we make it so nature is something we see in the city?”

In 2014, the park board began work to “rewild” parks and green spaces, identifying 28 biodiversity spots that should be protected, and educating people about their importance. The main goal of the plan was to encourage ecological literacy, said Page.