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| Manning Park |
Many of my summer days have been spent in a British Columbia Park. I loved the familiar sound
rolling through the trees of the “Two-Wheelers” a ramshackle gang of pre-teens
on bicycles thrown together by chance for a few days under the shade of a grove
of Coastal Douglas fir, cedar, maple and arbutus.
Manning Park was a family
favourite, as was Kalmalka Lake near Vernon. These were the days where we were
playing carefree from dawn till dusk.
The third Saturday of July was Parks Day and my family just happened to be
camping at Rathtrevor Beach in Parksville. This was another target destination
for my family as we explored 1980’s SuperNatural British
Columbia in our tent trailer.
The Elder's Council
I have a semi-regular meeting with a group who call themselves “The
Elder’s Council”.
More organized than the “Two-Wheelers”, they are retired public servants
who worked in B.C. Parks throughout their careers and who want to see the best
for our parks. I have little background in this area and so I’m grateful they
will share their knowledge and experience with me. We talk about how we can
maintain and grow the park system.
There is a big difference between Parks when I was a kid and now. We
learned a lot more than just basic tribal human instincts during a camping
trip. I remember all the kids gathering in the evenings to learn about nature
from the Park naturalist. These were valuable lessons to set firmly in my mind
an awe and respect for the natural world.
In my last conversation with the Elders, I advocated for a complete
paradigm change. Parks is land that we set aside from our plundering. So, when
the Minister of Forests needs to defend completely
unsustainable logging practices in one place he can point to another place and
gain comfort because it’s a protected area.
Selfie culture trampling parks
Park usage is increasing and the advent of the viral social selfies has
made some places famous, drawing thousands of people each year to previously
quiet locations.
This topic was the focus of the conversation on The Big
Story Podcast between host Jordan Heath-Rawlings and The
Walrus journalist Joel Barde. On one hand, it's great to hear how
people are getting outdoors. On the other hand, it's having a big impact on our
Parks.
It is pretty clear from how the light in our kids’ eyes shine a little
brighter when we spent even a few short hours in the trees that protecting
natural spaces, preserving ecosystems and spending time away from the city is
good for the spirit! There is so little trust that the decision-makers can
restrain themselves from resource development that we obviously need Parks.
If everything outside a park is vulnerable to devastating resource
extraction, then we need to rapidly expand our Park system. However, I hope we
can reform our other decision-making to ensure that the only safe place is not
behind an arbitrary black line.
Adam Olsen ... is a Green
Party Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia for Saanich North
and the Islands.
Born in Victoria, BC in 1976, Adam has lived,
worked and played his entire life on the Saanich Peninsula. He is a member of
Tsartlip First Nation (W̱JOȽEȽP), where he
and his wife, Emily, are raising their two children, Silas and Ella.
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