Celebrating Estuary Trailhead Completion
The completion of the trailhead and its celebration on the 22nd of July can be marked as another important CERCA milestone. The trailhead which encompasses the parking lot, the footbridge constructed by Western Stevedoring, and the kiosk with its 10 panels constitutes the second phase of this major project. The week preceding the inauguration was hectic: the landscaping around the kiosk had to be finalized, the panels to be attached, the invitations to be sent out, and the event itself to be organized. Although we had planned to secure the kiosk site with a snake fence it did not feel right when tried out. The last minute change of plans two days ahead of the event proved to be problematic. Being short of one tree trunk, we contacted Western Forest Products for help. We located just the right candidate on the mill site, a rescue log from the mill pond. Waterlogged, weighing tons, and grown over with barnacles it was the perfect fit for the new location. This log can tell a story! The approximately 70 year old Douglas fir from the Interior of Northern Vancouver Island has undergone a remarkable Odyssey: dragged to the mill pond for miles across the sea, successfully escaping the log boom inside the mill pond, settling on its murky bottom where it hoped to find its final resting place, dragged out again onto dry land by a crane to be chipped and converted to pulp, it now has come to life again at the trailhead where it will tell its incredible story hopefully for years to come.
Following the grading, surfacing and landscaping of the parking lot the timber-framed kiosk at the trail-head was constructed using long-lasting yellow cedar stained prior to construction with a blending in well with the surroundings and the kiosk panels. Timber-framing for those of you who are not familiar with it, is an exciting experience since all the pre-cut and pre-notched elements are erected and held together mostly by wooden pegs.
On completion of the kiosk structure and after placing the last rafter the master timber-framer in accordance with an ancient German tradition, recited his ritualized poem reporting on the construction process and cooperation with the customer while standing high on the roof with a glass of “Schnaps” in his hand which after the toast is smashed on the ground for good luck. The celebration also involves attaching a decorated tree on the roof, usually a small fir tree, alternatively an oak tree branch. Uta Asher, CERCA’s oldest member of 93, never wanting to miss out on any of the CERCA actions, faithfully provided her moral support throughout the process and all other trail work during her annual visit from Germany.
George Croy had taken on the task of locating a suitable piece of First Nation art for the kiosk to be placed on top of the large panel allocated to First Nation history in the estuary. His efforts resulted in finding an exquisite carving of migrating salmon by the late Edgar E. Rice, an accomplished Cowichan Tribes wood carver. Edgar’s brother, the current owner of the piece, allowed our art photographer Will Datene to produce the outstanding photo of the carving in his studio to be used at the kiosk. The photo definitely does justice to the original carving. Thanks to all of you who helped to enrich the kiosk with this photo.
On July 22 our two Island Savings Youth Ambassadors put up a tent at the trailhead’s parking lot offering our invited guests a warm welcome and refreshments. A big Thanks to both Kayla and Meghan for helping CERCA to make the event a success! On behalf of CERCA its Chair welcomed all guests (well over 40 persons attended the event), acknowledging the contributions by numerous local enterprises and thanked all CERCA volunteers and others for their help during this second phase of the trail project. Island Savings as major sponsor of CERCA and the nature trail were represented at the event by numerous staff including Randy Bertsch (President of Island Savings), Colin Nicol (Vice President), and Lynn Tetarenko (Assistant Vice President), the latter speaking on behalf of Island Savings. Lori Iannidinardo spoke on behalf of the CVRD and Allan Moore on behalf of Western Stevedoring.
The third phase possibly extending well into 2017 will include placing twelve interpretation panels along the trail, the construction of two platforms and one observation tower, the removal of the remaining rail tracks, and widening the trail past the slough. We still have to agree with Western Stevedoring on the removal of the 800m remaining rail tracks which currently make trail maintenance a nightmare. We have been offered the assistance of SVI Rail Link for the removal once and if agreed to by Western Stevedoring. Meanwhile we will continue with the step-by-step trail development.
