Allan Brooks Nature Centre Society

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Allan Brooks Nature Centre Society The Allan Brooks Nature Centre fosters a connection between schools, the public, and nature through its programming.

It offers residents and visitors of the Okanagan region opportunities for nature-based learning, and engaging events and experiences. Perched atop the grasslands just south of Vernon the Allan Brooks Nature Centre (ABNC) is your place to satisfy your natural curiosity and reconnect with the joys of nature. The Nature Centre provides visitors a first-hand opportunity to see and learn about the Okanaganโ€™s unique and diverse natural heritage through views, information, programs, and displays of the regionโ€™s natural areas. The Centre occupies the old Vernon Upper Air Weather Station overlooking the city of Vernon and was first opened on July 1, 2000. It is ideally situated on a grassland knoll at the confluence of the Okanagan and Coldstream valleys. Three lakes and five ecosystems can be seen from this site and spectacular, panoramic views of the Okanagan and its diverse ecosystems. The Allan Brooks Nature Centre is committed to promoting the enjoyment of nature and increasing awareness of habitat conservation through environmental education and nature-related activities in the Okanagan region.

๐€ ๐‡๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐›๐ข๐ซ๐'๐ฌ ๐‡๐ž๐š๐ซ๐ญ ๐ˆ๐ฌ ๐ˆ๐ง๐œ๐ซ๐ž๐๐ข๐›๐ฅ๐ž ๐Ÿ’“During active flight, a hummingbird's heart can beat more than 1,000 times per minu...
10/16/2026

๐€ ๐‡๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐›๐ข๐ซ๐'๐ฌ ๐‡๐ž๐š๐ซ๐ญ ๐ˆ๐ฌ ๐ˆ๐ง๐œ๐ซ๐ž๐๐ข๐›๐ฅ๐ž ๐Ÿ’“

During active flight, a hummingbird's heart can beat more than 1,000 times per minute!

At night, some hummingbirds enter a state called torpor, dramatically slowing their metabolism to conserve energy.

Tiny bird. Extraordinary biology.

๐–๐ก๐ฒ ๐’๐š๐ ๐ž๐›๐ซ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ก ๐“๐ก๐ซ๐ข๐ฏ๐ž๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐Ž๐ค๐š๐ง๐š๐ ๐š๐ง ๐ŸŒฟBig sagebrush is perfectly adapted to the Okanaganโ€™s hot, dry conditions. Its lea...
10/14/2026

๐–๐ก๐ฒ ๐’๐š๐ ๐ž๐›๐ซ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ก ๐“๐ก๐ซ๐ข๐ฏ๐ž๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐Ž๐ค๐š๐ง๐š๐ ๐š๐ง ๐ŸŒฟ

Big sagebrush is perfectly adapted to the Okanaganโ€™s hot, dry conditions. Its leaves are covered with tiny hairs that help reduce moisture loss, allowing the plant to survive where many others cannot.

Sagebrush also provides important food and shelter for wildlife, making it an essential part of our grassland ecosystem.

๐ŸŒฟ ๐–๐ข๐ง ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ฌ๐ก๐š๐ซ๐ž. ๐’๐ฉ๐š๐ซ๐ค ๐ง๐š๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ž ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐œ๐จ๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ๐ฒ.Allan Brooks Nature Centreโ€™s 50/50 raffle is now open!Enter for a chance to ๐ฐ๐ข๐ง...
10/13/2026

๐ŸŒฟ ๐–๐ข๐ง ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ฌ๐ก๐š๐ซ๐ž. ๐’๐ฉ๐š๐ซ๐ค ๐ง๐š๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ž ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐œ๐จ๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ๐ฒ.

Allan Brooks Nature Centreโ€™s 50/50 raffle is now open!

Enter for a chance to ๐ฐ๐ข๐ง ๐ฎ๐ฉ ๐ญ๐จ $๐Ÿ๐Ÿ‘,๐Ÿ•๐Ÿ“๐ŸŽ while supporting environmental education and expanded programming in 2027. One winner receives half of total ticket sales; the maximum prize is available if all tickets sell.

Your support helps children, youth and families discover local wildlife, explore the outdoors and build lasting connections with nature in the Okanagan.

๐ŸŽŸ๏ธ 1 for $5 | 5 for $20 | 20 for $50 | 50 for $100
๐’๐š๐ฅ๐ž๐ฌ ๐ž๐ง๐ ๐๐จ๐ฏ๐ž๐ฆ๐›๐ž๐ซ ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ—, ๐Ÿ๐ŸŽ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ”.
๐ƒ๐ซ๐š๐ฐ: ๐๐จ๐ฏ๐ž๐ฆ๐›๐ž๐ซ ๐Ÿ๐ŸŽ, ๐Ÿ๐ŸŽ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ” ๐š๐ญ ๐Ÿ ๐ฉ.๐ฆ. ๐๐š๐œ๐ข๐Ÿ๐ข๐œ ๐“๐ข๐ฆ๐ž.

๐๐ฎ๐ฒ ๐ญ๐ข๐œ๐ค๐ž๐ญ๐ฌ: https://trellis.org/abnc-fall-2026-5050/raffle

19+. Must be in BC to purchase. Eligibility restrictions apply. BC Gaming Event Licence #176922. Know your limit, play within it.

๐‘๐š๐ฏ๐ž๐ง๐ฌ ๐€๐ซ๐ž ๐‘๐ž๐ฆ๐š๐ซ๐ค๐š๐›๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐‚๐ฅ๐ž๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ ๐Ÿฆโ€โฌ›Ravens can solve problems, remember individual faces and even mimic soundsโ€”including hum...
10/09/2026

๐‘๐š๐ฏ๐ž๐ง๐ฌ ๐€๐ซ๐ž ๐‘๐ž๐ฆ๐š๐ซ๐ค๐š๐›๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐‚๐ฅ๐ž๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ ๐Ÿฆโ€โฌ›

Ravens can solve problems, remember individual faces and even mimic soundsโ€”including human speech!

These highly intelligent birds are members of the corvid family, along with crows, jays and magpies.

๐…๐š๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ˆ๐ฌ ๐š๐ง ๐ˆ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐š๐ง๐ญ ๐“๐ข๐ฆ๐ž ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ ๐Ž๐ค๐š๐ง๐š๐ ๐š๐ง ๐๐ž๐š๐ซ๐ฌ ๐ŸปAs fall arrives, black bears enter a period called hyperphagia, when they ...
10/07/2026

๐…๐š๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ˆ๐ฌ ๐š๐ง ๐ˆ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐š๐ง๐ญ ๐“๐ข๐ฆ๐ž ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ ๐Ž๐ค๐š๐ง๐š๐ ๐š๐ง ๐๐ž๐š๐ซ๐ฌ ๐Ÿป

As fall arrives, black bears enter a period called hyperphagia, when they spend much of their time eating and building the fat reserves they need for winter.

Itโ€™s also an important reminder for us to keep garbage, fallen fruit, pet food and other attractants secured. Protecting wildlife sometimes starts with something as simple as managing what we leave behind.

๐…๐ฎ๐ง ๐…๐š๐œ๐ญ ๐…๐ซ๐ข๐๐š๐ฒ! ๐Ÿฆ”Did you know a group of porcupines is called a prickle?  And despite the old myth, porcupines can't sh...
10/02/2026

๐…๐ฎ๐ง ๐…๐š๐œ๐ญ ๐…๐ซ๐ข๐๐š๐ฒ! ๐Ÿฆ”

Did you know a group of porcupines is called a prickle?

And despite the old myth, porcupines can't shoot their quills. The quills detach when something comes into contact with them.

Now you know!

Today, Allan Brooks Nature Centre recognizes the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and honours the children, fam...
10/01/2026

Today, Allan Brooks Nature Centre recognizes the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and honours the children, families, Survivors, and communities impacted by residential schools.

We encourage everyone to take time today to listen, learn, reflect, and deepen our understanding of the history and ongoing journey of reconciliation. ๐Ÿงก

๐ŸŒฟ ๐๐ž๐ฐ ๐๐š๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ž ๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐๐ฅ๐จ๐  ๐๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ!Roseanne Van Ee is back with another edition of Okanaganโ€™s Nature Nut.This month, Roseanne ta...
09/23/2026

๐ŸŒฟ ๐๐ž๐ฐ ๐๐š๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ž ๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐๐ฅ๐จ๐  ๐๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ!

Roseanne Van Ee is back with another edition of Okanaganโ€™s Nature Nut.

This month, Roseanne takes a closer look at Black Bears โ€” from their incredible climbing and foraging abilities to how they prepare for hibernation.

She also shares some interesting facts about black bear behaviour, their changing hair colours, and some important reminders about staying safe when weโ€™re in bear country.

Read Roseanneโ€™s latest blog here:
https://abnc.ca/black-bears/

Have you ever spotted a black bear in the wild? ๐Ÿป

๐Ÿ’š Thank you, First West Foundation!Weโ€™re incredibly grateful to receive a $20,000 2026 Impact Grant through the Valley F...
09/21/2026

๐Ÿ’š Thank you, First West Foundation!

Weโ€™re incredibly grateful to receive a $20,000 2026 Impact Grant through the Valley First Community Endowment Fund.

This support helps Allan Brooks Nature Centre continue our work in the community and support our education programs, creating meaningful opportunities for people of all ages to connect with and learn about nature. ๐ŸŒฟ

Thank you to the First West Foundation for supporting our community and the work we do at ABNC! ๐Ÿ’š

๐Ÿฆ ๐–๐ก๐š๐ญ ๐ฌ๐ก๐จ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐จ ๐ฐ๐ก๐ž๐ง ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐Ÿ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐š๐ง ๐ข๐ง๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ž๐ ๐›๐ข๐ซ๐?Just one week before Global Bird Rescue (September 21โ€“27, 2026), join...
09/16/2026

๐Ÿฆ ๐–๐ก๐š๐ญ ๐ฌ๐ก๐จ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐จ ๐ฐ๐ก๐ž๐ง ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐Ÿ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐š๐ง ๐ข๐ง๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ž๐ ๐›๐ข๐ซ๐?

Just one week before Global Bird Rescue (September 21โ€“27, 2026), join us for a special Summer Nature Talk all about understanding bird injuries, preventing collisions, and learning how we can help keep birds safe. ๐Ÿ’š

Kathleen Johnson, co-founder of the Calgary Urban Species Response Team, will share practical information about bird injuries and prevention tips that anyone can use. Sheโ€™ll also talk about the work her volunteer group does to rescue birds and bats, conduct surveys, and document wildlife in our urban environment.

๐Ÿ“… Saturday, September 19
โฐ 11:00โ€“11:30 AM
๐Ÿ“ Allan Brooks Nature Centre

Come learn the basics, get equipped with practical tips, and leave with some inspiration for how you can help save birds in your own community. ๐Ÿฆ๐ŸŒฟ

Address

250 Allan Brooks Way
Vernon, BC
V1H1G2

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