Yosef Wosk Library & Resource Centre

Please note: the Library is closed on Sundays and on December 25th.

January 28, 2025: 6.30pm – 8.00pm – Online

Topic: Your Brain in Nature

Presenter: Dr. Amy McDonnell

• To attend this online presentation in person click here.

About the presentation:

Most of us intuitively feel that spending time in nature increases our wellbeing. A growing body of scientific research confirms this, and points to many beneficial effects of spending time in the natural world, including better health, lowered stress levels, and better focus. Recent neuroscience has revealed some of the brain processes involved in bringing about these benefits.

In this presentation, cognitive neuroscientist Amy McDonnell will cover the research on the topic and will answer your questions on the benefits of nature on our brains.

About the speaker:

Dr. Amy McDonnell is a cognitive neuroscientist in the Department of Psychology at the University of Utah. Her research is focused on using neuroscience methods to better understand changes in the brain associated with immersion in nature.

Please note: This Speaker Series will be offered in an online only format through Zoom.

For more information and to register, click here.

Download the 2025 reading list here.

Join us on the second Monday of the month in February, April, June, September and November from 1-2 pm.

We purposely choose general topics to allow members to find materials that interest them and so that there is less demand on a limited number of copies of a particular book. Members are asked to read one, or as many of the suggested books as they like.

To prepare for Book Club meetings, check out the Yosef Wosk Library and Resource Centre at the VanDusen Garden Visitor Center, your local library and bookstore for books, ebooks and audiobooks. You are also welcome to conduct your own research online.

3 to 5 year olds and their families are invited to join us for Preschool Storytime in the Library!

To register for Preschool Storytime and to view more Family Programs, click here!

VanDusen Botanical Garden in Colour
by: Vancouver En Plein Air Painters

Admission: FREE
September 4 – December 16, 2024

Admission: FREE

The Vancouver En Plein Air Painters group was formed by Susanne Kestner-Aiello on April 18, 2011. The group had its first session in Stanley Park.

The Vancouver En Plein Air Painters share: Our love of outdoor painting, the joy of companionship, and the exchange of ideas has kept us together every week despite occasional inclement weather.

VanDusen Botanical Gardens continues to be one of our favourite locations throughout all seasons. In this garden, we experience a peacefulness, worldliness, an enchantment, a variety of textures, and a myriad of forms to paint.

This exhibition of the works of eleven painters is a small sample reflecting different visions and expressions of “place.” VanDusen Garden is a “place” that continues to move each one of us in different ways, and one that we discover anew all year long. Images include watercolour, acrylic and oil medium inspired by such places as the Autumn Stroll, Black Garden, Rose Garden, Heron Lake, Laburnum Walk and the Rhododendron Walk.

The painters’ different artistic backgrounds and life journeys are compiled in an album with biographies, images and contact information. This album is available for viewing during the show.

All paintings are for sale.

See these artworks at the Roberta Mickelson Gallery in the Yosef Wosk Library & Resource Centre

Monday – Friday 10:00am -3:00pm
Saturday 11:00am – 3:00pm

Founded in 1976, and relocated to the new Visitor Centre in 2011, the Yosef Wosk Library and Resource Centre is the largest public access botanical and horticultural library in western Canada.

The library’s collection focuses on gardening in British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest, and covers a wide range of topics including gardening techniques, selecting and growing ornamental plants, native floras from around the world, vegetable and herb gardening, pruning and training, North American ethnobotany, butterfly gardening, native plant gardening, flower arrangement, plant hunters, garden history, pests and diseases, garden design, gardens to visit, horticulture in urban environments, botany and plant ecology, plant conservation, literature in the garden, garden art, organic gardening, environmental science and much more.

The Yosef Wosk Library and Resource Centre’s research collection complements the living resources of VanDusen Botanical Garden. In addition to our collection, you can enjoy regular community events hosted at the library.

If you would like to connect with us before your visit please contact: library@vandusen.org

Are you open to the general public?
Yes! Anyone can use our library although only VanDusen Botanical Garden Association (VBGA) members are able to borrow books.

As a Vancouver Botanical Gardens Association (VBGA) member, can I check out materials?
VBGA members can borrow 3 books for 3 weeks at a time from our lending collection (all books with a green or orange label on their spines). Your VBGA membership card functions as your library card. Circulating items may be renewed once by e-mail or phone if they are not already overdue, and if no hold has been placed on them. All other materials are for library use only.

Do you answer questions over the telephone? By email?
Both! Contact us through library@vandusen.org or at 604-257-8668. The library staff and volunteers will be happy to let you know what information we have in the library on your topic and give answers and referrals whenever possible.

Are you part of the Vancouver Public Library system?
No, we are not.

Do you accept donations of books and magazines?
The Yosef Wosk Library & Resource Centre accepts donations of books. All donated material is reviewed according to the selection criteria applied to purchased material. If your donation is not needed for the library collection, it will be sold in a used book sale with the proceeds going to the library’s book acquisition budget. However, due to limited storage space, we may not be able to accept larger donations and out-of-date material.

Can I donate a book in memory of someone?
Yes. All gift books that are accepted into our collection will be processed with a memorial bookplate, if desired. You may contact us at 604-257-8668 for more information.

My plant is sick. If I bring it into the library, can you tell me what’s wrong?
We recommend you contact the Vancouver Master Gardeners Association of BC (Vancouver chapter) here. However, the library staff will help you find and use books from our reference collection on pests and diseases.

Can I make a cash donation to the Library?
If you wish to direct a financial donation to support the Library, to enhance the collection or donate to our Adopt-a-Shelf program please contact fundraising@vandusen.org or call 604-257-8677.

Do I need to wear a mask in the library?
Masks are no longer mandatory in all indoor public spaces in alignment with updates to the public health orders issued by the Provincial government. You are welcome to keep wearing masks, depending on your level of comfort.

Contact Information:
Marina Princz: Librarian
Tel. 604-257-8668
Email: library@vandusen.org
Yosef Wosk Library and Resource Centre
5151 Oak Street
Vancouver, British Columbia
V6M 4H1

We are a member of the Council on Botanical and Horticultural Libraries (www.cbhl.net).