We had a blast wandering Robert Burnaby Park in Burnaby, BC, today searching for the forest sculptures created by Vancouver artist Nickie Lewis.
UPDATE (2/2): This was not approved by Burnaby Parks. While entertaining, and getting folks out into nature, there are also drawbacks like habitat denigration, erosion, etc.
Apparently the artist was planning to do more of these in other Burnaby parks, including Byrne Creek Ravine Park, where I’ve volunteered as a streamkeeper for over 20 years. Byrne Creek Ravine Park has a very fragile riparian zone, and attracting hundreds of people to trample through it would be disastrous.
When I heard this, I contacted Burnaby Parks, and was assured that they are aware, and have contacted the artist who has agreed to stop these activities.
Yes, I have to admit we enjoyed exploring Robert Burnaby Park, but upon further thought, it’s best to try to maintain what little urban biodiversity that we have left. . .
We saw a duck we didn’t recognize at Barnet Marine Park in north Burnaby today. Turns out it’s a Long-tailed Duck, confirmed by the hive mind at iNaturalist. Cool!
Also spotted a few Goldeneyes, a Great Blue Heron, and a Cormorant.
Today we parked near the playground at Fraser Foreshore Park in south Burnaby and walked east to the meadow, around, and back, and then west to Sussex Creek and back.
Our two-person isolating household is getting more Covid recommendation-breaker angry.
Yes, we’re getting out and hiking and rambling, but always just the two of us, with our masks and our sanitizer. And we stay within a near radius.
When Ontario and Quebec have imposed lockdowns and travel bans, why are there apparently skiers from those provinces in Whistler, BC?
How did they get here, if they’re not supposed to travel even within their own provinces?
Hell, all of us in BC are strongly counselled not to travel outside our communities.
We are told we shouldn’t visit elderly relatives who live minutes away. So how are the tourists getting here?
Our political leaders are saying this is beyond their control.
No, it is NOT.
To get to BC you either have to cross an international border, which is supposedly closed, or you have to fly in (which is supposedly tough, but apparently not so much), or you can drive in on very few few cross-provincial highways that would be easy to control.
More photos from our ramble at the North 40 Park Reserve and the Boundary Bay dyke in Delta, BC. I posted an album of Bald Eagle photos, and here are a bunch of other birds.
