Vancouver: Sentience & Stewardship
Five days of research, field reports, and shared practice — exploring what it means to recognise the inner lives of animals and to care well for the world we share with them.
Two ideas, held together.
Sentience asks what an animal experiences. Stewardship asks what we owe in response. Most of the work that matters happens where these two questions meet — in the kitchen, the kennel, the clinic, the coastline, the back garden.
Across five days, members and invited researchers will share fieldwork, methods, and unfinished thinking. Sessions are organised around four practice tracks and one open programme of lightning talks.
Sentience & Cognition · Stewardship & Policy · Companion Health · Field & Habitat
Plenaries, concurrents, workshops, lightning talks, and one annual general meeting.
Members, invited researchers, and a small allocation for first-time attendees.
Five-Day Agenda
All sessions run in one of five rooms. Click a day to see the schedule.
Registration & Welcome Coffee
Pick up your delegate pack and programme guide.
Opening Keynote: Sentience in the Age of Stewardship
How a decade of inner-life research reframes what we owe the species in our care.
New Voices: Six-Minute Field Reports
Eight emerging researchers, six minutes each, no slides.
State of the Field — 2026
Where the discipline has moved since last year, and where it hasn’t.
Reading Behavioural Cues in Companion Species
Hands-on session. Capped at 24 delegates.
Welcome Reception
Drinks, light food, name-tag awkwardness.
What Animals Know
A tour of recent work on memory, anticipation, and self-recognition across species.
The Quiet Language of Domestic Dogs
Subtle home-environment cues and what they tell us about emotional state.
Avian Sentience: Beyond Corvids
What we miss when we treat one clever family as the whole story.
Pain & Emotion in Companion Species
Recognising and recording affective states in clinical practice.
Coastal Birds & Modern Shorelines
Two seasons of observation along the Vancouver seawall.
Ethics in Sentience Research
Moderated discussion. Open to all delegates.
Stewardship as Practice
Why stewardship is closer to gardening than to lawmaking.
Urban Wildlife & Municipal Policy
Coexistence frameworks adopted by mid-sized BC municipalities.
BC’s Changing Ecosystems
Spring 2026 migration patterns and what they suggest for the next decade.
Community-Based Conservation: Designing the Brief
Practical session. Bring a project you’re stuck on.
Indigenous Stewardship & Western Science: Listening Across Methods
Panellists confirmed in October programme update.
Members’ Mixer
For paid members and invited guests.
Field Report Showcase
Twelve short reports from the past year of member fieldwork.
Bioavailability in Modern Diets
What absorption rates tell us about commercial pet food formulation.
Circadian Health in Companion Animals
How artificial light shifts hormonal patterns in dogs and cats.
Designing Enrichment Programmes
From principles to a usable plan for clinics, shelters, and homes.
Poster Session & Coffee
Presenters at posters from 15:00; coffee continuous.
Conference Dinner
Ticketed separately. Confirm by Oct 25.
Annual General Meeting (Part 1)
Reports from the chair, treasurer, and standing committees. Members only.
AGM (Part 2): Resolutions & Voting
Motions submitted by Oct 1 will be voted on. Members only.
Closing Plenary: Looking to 2027
What we’ll be working on between now and the next gathering.
Farewell Coffee
Goodbyes, follow-up scheduling, and the start of next year’s plans.
Pricing & Tiers
- Full five-day pass
- All sessions & workshops
- AGM voting rights
- Welcome reception
- Full five-day pass
- All sessions & workshops
- AGM voting rights
- Welcome reception
- Full five-day pass
- All sessions & workshops
- Welcome reception
- Excludes AGM voting
- One-day attendance
- All sessions that day
- Coffee & lunch included
- No reception or AGM access