WALKING IN THEIR FOOTSTEPS

Parksville & Qualicum Beach

Photos Bud Logan

The Parksville/Qualicum Beach area was originally inhabited by the Coast Salish. They lived on the ocean shores against a backdrop of an old-growth rain forest, it looked a lot different here then.

The first settlers arrived in the 1800s and by the year 1900, there were a number of families living in Parksville, with a population around 250. The original settling families were the Craigs, Hirsts, Raths, and the Gaetjens. Quite a few of the other settlers who came after were related to these families. In 1884, they built a log church and it is still in use today. It’s a wonderful old building. For a few years in the early ’80s, I lived just behind the church, on Church Road. The old graves were from a place in history. Quite fascinating.

The Parksville area has lots to do and see; there is so much history here and it is celebrated at the Craig Heritage Park & Museum. This a pretty awesome little museum loaded with the area history. For example, did you know that the early settlers would use snow shoes on their horses because the snow would get so deep? Well me neither, but this and so much more can be learned at this museum. There a number of heritage buildings on the site that were brought here from their original settings, this is a must-see when you are in the area–it’s just south of town on the Old Island Hwy.

In 1910, the railway was advanced to Parksville along with a big increase with logging, and settlers began moving in—the town grew pretty fast. The railway is

not in operation anymore, and now the old station is a potters’ guild and the old water tower has been restored and is looking great.

The town was already a vacation destination for tourists in the early 1900s, and this has only grown, with the region now becoming a retirement area. This adds to the slower, friendlier pace that life is lived here.

The natural wonders are incredible here: you are only minutes from Raftrevor Park, Englishman River Falls Park, Little Qualicum Falls Park, and Cathedral Grove Park. All these parks have so much to offer, and there are many hiking trails at each of them, trails that are awesome journeys to hidden falls, birds everywhere and at times of the year, they burst in colour with wildflower displays.

Qualicum Beach is right next door to Parksville and is known as the Garden Village. The town has been a repeat winner in the Communities in Bloom competition. You can see why as you stroll through town. There are flowers and hanging baskets everywhere and it is always so clean. It’s a beautiful little community.

On the outskirts of town, 2 km up the West Island Hwy, you will find the former estate of the Milners. The gardens here are absolutely incredible, so grand are they that the Canadian Geographic Traveller Magazine named the gardens 1 of the 10 top Canadian public gardens in Canada in 2008.

In mid-April, Qualicum Beach celebrates the migration of up to 20,000 Black Brant geese from California and Mexico to their breeding grounds in Alaska. Thousands of the black, duck size geese touch down on the beaches and marshlands surrounding Parksville and Qualicum to rest and feed on the algae, eel grasses and seaweeds. The migration is just incredible to observe.

So come and stop by Parksville and Qualicum Beach, learn some history, soak up the sun on the sandy beaches, golf on the wonderful golf ranges, or take in the Black Brant Festival.

Bud Logan has lived on Vancouver Island since 1961 and has a deep love of the Island’s wild places. Visit Bud at www.gohiking.ca

The North Island's FIRST CRAFT BEER FESTIVAL Photo © Rawpixel.com / AdobeStock

Take the creative concept of a young local couple, employ social media savvy, partner with local businesses, and contribute to a community organization that “helps people help people”... and you have the birth of the North Island Craft Beer Festival. The event, hosted November 23 in Campbell River, culminated with a $12, 500 cheque presentation to support operation of the Campbell River Community Foundation.

Kyle and Sarah Leigh were eager to see if they could launch a festival that would bring together others who shared their interest in the craft breweries from B.C., Washington and Oregon. In summer they love to travel throughout the region exploring the craft beer business. What began as Kyle’s idea in the shower one early morning took on a life of its own. Working with many local partners, he and Sarah launched the North Island Craft Beer Festival using his brother Taylor Leigh’s social media savvy—and within 40 minutes, the festival had sold out to a crowd of close to 300. In November these lucky people had the opportunity to sample the wares of 140 breweries. The weekend grew into an array of opportunities as Session Taproom and Kitchen, Beach Fire Brewing, Spinnakers, and Port Alberni’s Twin City Brewing added other festival activities.

It is the Campbell River Community Foundation that ultimately benefits from this exciting locally grown concept. Kyle’s grandfather Arne Leigh and father Randy Leigh and family have been devoted supporters of the Campbell River Community Foundation—our local foundation that shepherds funds from donors to create a legacy.

Annually the interest from the Foundation is dispersed as grants to non-profit organizations whose volunteers often work tirelessly to provide support within the greater Campbell River community. Grant Applications will be available on the CRCF website on February 15, 2020. www.crfoundation.ca

FOOD FOR THOUGHT ILLEGAL DUMPING

Bud Logan

The Island is a tourist destination for incredible wilderness adventures. We have some of the best hiking and biking trails, skiing and mountaineering opportunities, and fishing and wildlife viewing in the world, and we are known as a premiere diving area. We also have some of the worst roadside dumping.

There are areas on the Island that are becoming real environmental disasters. And if we, as communities looking for new means of economic growth, wish to promote this Island as a first class eco-tourism destination, we all need to do more to address this problem.

Illegal dumpsites can become serious health problems. The toxins that leach from illegal dumps wind up in our ground water and our drinking water reservoirs. I have cleaned up diapers in our forests, knee deep in garbage, and pulled full 45 gallon fuel barrels from spawning streams. We are poisoning this land.

Some areas, like those in the surrounding areas of Campbell River and Coombs, have some of the worst sites on the Island. A few years back, I was the President of the Island Forest Stewards, and our mandate was to clean up illegal dumpsites. We cleaned up many, but one site just outside of Campbell River saw us clean up over 40 tons of trash, that’s 80,000 pounds of garbage— and it was along just one, 1 km section of road.

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