Sharing Space with Wildlife Exhibit Parks Canada and Science World Joint Project

Joint Interactive Interpretive Exhibit

Youth and families visiting Science World in Vancouver will discover the 600 ft² Sharing Space with Wildlife exhibit located in an outdoor space called the Ken Spencer Science Park. This interpretive exhibit will provide youth with a creative venue to explore and discover the many species found in the Rocky Mountain national parks and efforts to ensure their long-term protection. This exhibit also shows that big and small wildlife are moving through landscapes that are shared with humans, including the animals that share our cities.

Big animals need big spaces. Wildlife travels far and wide to find such things as food, den sites, and mates. Roads and towns often break up these spaces, creating the need for safe highway crossings for these animals. Growing cities also split large natural spaces into smaller ones. More fragmentation often means fewer species, as wildlife might not have enough available habitats to meet their needs for food and space.

The exhibit’s family-friendly, learning experiences include child-sized highway wildlife overpasses and underpasses and features some of the animals that regularly use these types of crossing structures. Children exploring the urban area of the exhibit will learn how they can support pollinators and other animals that call the city home. Simple actions are taught, such as planting native flowers and shrubs, which can provide food and shelter for animals and help them travel between larger protected areas. Interactive games reinforce these messages.

Wildlife Crossings in the Rocky Mountain National Parks

The history of wildlife crossings in the Rocky Mountain national parks goes back to 1981 when the Trans-Canada Highway through Banff National Park began to be twinned. Completed in phases, and upgraded from a two to four lane highway, the project included the installation of wildlife crossing structures and exclusion fencing. Twinning of the 83 km of Trans-Canada Highway in Banff National Park was completed in 2014.

Following on the success of the crossings and monitoring program in Banff, the Kootenay National Park Wildlife Crossings project began in 2013. Completed in two phases, this project includes nine underpasses and 15 km of fencing.

Roads can fragment even big landscapes. Parks Canada has created wildlife crossing structures across busy highways in three national parks – Banff, Kootenay, and Yoho. These fences, underpasses, and overpasses have reduced wildlife-vehicle collisions by over 80% making park highways safer for animals and people. The crossing structures allow wildlife to safely reach important habitats in the park and beyond.

In March 2016, the Government of Canada announced $85.9M in funding to continue twinning of the Trans-Canada Highway in Yoho National Park. This six kilometre stretch of twinned highway, starting at the Alberta/British Columbia border continuing west, will include four wildlife crossing structures and a Remote Avalanche Control System (RACS) on Mount Bosworth. Also included in this funding is a public consultation and environmental assessment component for the remaining 40 km of Trans-Canada highway through Yoho National Park.

Kootenay National Park Wildlife Crossings Project

Through this $14.5 million multi-year and multi-faceted conservation project, Parks Canada invested an initial $4.9 million in 2013 for Phase 1 to address wildlife mortality and habitat connectivity along Highway 93S in Kootenay National Park. This included the installation of three wildlife underpasses and 5 km of wildlife exclusion fencing.

An additional $9.6 million was announced in 2014 as part of Phase 2, which supported the construction of an additional10 km of fencing and six underpasses. A key component to this important conservation project was to share its story with the public through a variety of exhibits and interpretive displays. These include the realistic wildlife underpass interpretive exhibit at the Dolly Varden day use area on Highway 93S, and the $270k Sharing Spaces with Wildlife exhibit launched today at Science World, as part of this larger conservation effort.

Parks Canada and Science World Partnership

This project builds upon a successful multi-year partnership which includes Science World providing a venue for Parks Canada’s Vancouver Outreach Team who have expanded the Agency’s visibility and reach to urban and new Canadians. The development of the Sharing Space with Wildlife exhibit is a collaborative project between the two organizations.

Parks Canada has contributed funding, contract administration, and content related to national parks and highway wildlife crossing structures. Science World has provided a highly visited location for the exhibit, audience pre-testing of all activities, graphics and text, and content related to urban wildlife.        

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