Dear Editor,
Living on the mainland these days, after many years on Bowen Island, I have a piece of Bowen in my tiny apartment: a print of a lovely painting by Bill Hoopes, called “The Meadows”. He has captured the subtle beauty and uncultivated tranquility of that bucolic space on a summer day.
When I come back to Bowen to visit, I am drawn to The Meadows in Crippen Park – as are so many others – and the restorative powers of their peaceful hush and wide-open space.
I have learned that some members of the Bowen Agricultural Alliance (BAA) are proposing to build a large demonstration garden so as to educate the public about pollination. I think that’s a fine idea; I would like to know more myself.
I also understand that they would like to situate this cultivation initiative in The Meadows. I firmly believe that that’s the wrong place for it.
I feel like Dr. Seuss’s elephant protagonist, Horton, when he heard the Whos.
There is already an evolved ecosystem thriving in and around the thirty-one thousand plus square feet area that has been targeted. It is delicate, complex, balanced and teeming with life. Why dig it up (and dump it …. where?) so as to replace it with – I gather from the plans – raised beds, gravel paths, signage, covered patio and 7 foot deer fencing? Can that even be done in a riparian zone?
A fragile new garden is likely to need water during the summer months; where will that come from?
And what of the loss for Vancouverites, islanders and those who come to Bowen from farther afield? I cannot think of another space like The Meadows so close to the urban centre. Community gardens are proliferating in Vancouver; The Meadows are entirely different, and they offer visitors a wonderful, unfamiliar experience.
I would support the kind of garden centre proposed if it were situated in the Cove. The Cove Bay Water System could provide irrigation, and electricity would be available if needed. It would reach far more people at that location, and would be accessible to those with compromised mobility and other impediments.
Rather than profoundly disrupting an established ecosystem that is already doing everything this group espouses, wouldn’t it be better to collaborate with experts at, for instance, Bowen Island Nature Club, Bowen Island Fish and Wildlife Club, Bowen Conservancy, and more, to create a booklet and even a smartphone app educating people about what is already going on in The Meadows? I think all that’s needed is a tour guide.
Because what’s happening right now in The Meadows is a busy, fascinating, self-sustaining biological community where pollination plays a vital role in the established energy transformations and biogeochemical cycling that reflect a healthy ecology. Mother Nature has been working on this project for a century, and offers a demonstration every single day.
Fiona Beaty
Vancouver, BC
