Built to be a concession stand, the small building in Esquimalt Gorge Park is doing an adequate job serving as the Gorge Waterway Nature Centre. But it could be so much more.
The goal is to make it into the kind of facility where people will want to come and learn, said Todd Carnahan of the Habitat Acquisition Trust.
The Vancouver Island Construction Association is stepping up to do just that, to mark not only its own centennial year, but that of the Township of Esquimalt. The associationB次元官网网址檚 Young Construction Leaders group takes on a legacy project every year B次元官网网址� this year theyB次元官网网址檙e tackling a major renovation to the nature centre.
The group chose this project from many proposals because the centreB次元官网网址檚 education programs reach so many people, said Chris Lyons, project manager with FarmerB次元官网网址檚 Construction. The renovation will also call for a range of skills.
B次元官网网址淭he scope of this project involves a large number of the trades, so if weB次元官网网址檙e going to do things through donations and time, you can involve the majority of your association,B次元官网网址� Lyons said.
Several members of the Young Construction Leaders got a tour of their future project B次元官网网址� and an education about the Gorge B次元官网网址� on Thursday. As they gathered around a 3-D interactive watershed model of the Gorge, Joachim Carolsfeld pointed out eelgrass beds that serve as the nursery for fish, and the various freshwater creeks that feed the ocean inlet.
Carolsfeld is executive director of the World Fisheries Trust, which opened the centre in 2008 with the help of the Township. The model, mounted on a table, takes up a big chunk of the available room in the facility.
B次元官网网址淥ur main challenge is a lack of space,B次元官网网址� Carolsfeld said.
B次元官网网址�(The goal is to make this building) a more attractive place for our community, so that they can come and learn about B次元官网网址� the eel grass and the coho salmon and the ability to swim here,B次元官网网址� Carnahan said. B次元官网网址淚 was thinking a gingerbread house, but you might have other ideas,B次元官网网址� he joked to the industry leaders.
People must learn about the Gorge to value it, he said. B次元官网网址淚f they donB次元官网网址檛 value it, weB次元官网网址檒l never protect this place. It will become a cesspool again.B次元官网网址�
Did you know?
B次元官网网址� The Gorge Waterway Nature House was first built as a concession stand and washroom for beachgoers in the 1950s. At that time, the mouth of the creek winding through the Esquimalt Gorge Park was transformed into a pool for swimming, by dredging the sediment and chlorinating the water.
Focus on the Gorge
B次元官网网址� The new nature house is just one of many restoration and education projects focused on the Gorge. The Habitat Acquisition Trust is working with landowners upstream from Craigflower Creek to ensure nutrients and other pollutants donB次元官网网址檛 enter the watershed.
Another project, led by the World Fisheries Trust, is called Voices of the Gorge. ItB次元官网网址檚 about collecting stories from old folks, said executive director Joachim Carolsfeld. B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e not sure what kind of presentation it will be, whether video, print, posters, a book.B次元官网网址�
rholmen@vicnews.com
