WINDS OF CHANGE
It's hard to believe it's been five years since a ferocious windstorm devastated Stanley Park in the early hours of Dec. 15, 2006.
I toured of the park just days after the storm with former COPE park board commissioner Spencer Chandra Herbert, and the damage was unimaginable. It looked like Mother Nature had played a careless game of pick-up sticks with splintered tree trunks scattered and stacked up against each other.
The windstorm downed 10,000 trees, levelled 41 hectares of forest in eight areas of the park, severely damaged the seawall and forced the park to close for the first time in 40 years. Vision Vancouver park board commissioner Sarah Blyth says something positive came out of the devastation. "People from all over the world responded," says Blyth, who was not on the board at the time. "The support for Stanley Park and the volunteer programs that came out of it were amazing."
More than $10 million was raised towards the park's restoration from the federal and provincial governments, the city and more than 6,000 individuals and organizations. Following a massive cleanup, the park board developed the Stanley Park restoration plan with a team of experts, partners, stakeholders and staff. Blyth says the park board is planning a celebration for donors and the public in early 2012 to celebrate restoration efforts and showcase improvements.
JOLLY JELLY
Speaking of Stanley Park, the Vancouver Aquarium, which is located within the city's crown jewel, has an interesting holiday exhibit. Luminescence is a series of special exhibits and shows that demonstrate how animals create and reflect light. The Jelly Swarm exhibit features more than 100 jellyfish in a gallery with a ceiling covered in LED lights. This new temporary feature also includes other holiday favourites such as the Polar Express 4-D Experience and Scuba Claus. For more information on the display visit vanaqua.org/luminescence.
MONEY PITCH
On Thursday morning, the city's finance and services committee agreed to allow the park board to apply for a $1-million grant from the province's newly formed community recreation program. (I remember a time when the park board could make a decision like that on its own.)
This brings the promise of a seniors centre for Southeast Vancouver one step closer to reality. The new $30 million provincial program was designed to help municipalities meet their recreation infrastructure needs. A group of dedicated seniors has been fighting to have a southeast Vancouver seniors' centre built for a decade so they must be happy with the news. It was in 2009 when the park board instructed staff to look at the possibility of adding 10,000 square feet of program space to the existing Killarney Community Centre for a seniors facility. The board followed that up with a promise of $2.5 million as part of the 2011 capital budget, contingent on finding external funding. We'll see what happens next.
sthomas@vancourier.com
Twitter: @sthomas10
