Stanehill Park News
By Peter Karsten, Parks Committee
The Community approved the establishment of the half acre Stanehill Park in 2009. It was a wild, impassable piece of forest left over from the development of the area into 5 and 8 acre parcels. Neighbours, members of the Parks Committee, cleaned it up, created pathways, benches and a park sign to become a small “pocket park” owned by the Comox Valley Regional District. Other enhancements had been namely a plant identification scheme by using pegs with codes in combination with a park plant guide to identify them to the visitors and the addition of a number of bird and mammal carvings. The wooden pegs weathered and became part of the forest again over the last 20 plus years. The plant community kept changing making the task to moving pegs around a bigger one than anticipated. In 2023 we published “The Stanehill Park and Plant Guide to take its place. It is a take-along on your walk through the park to identify plants with the help of over 80 drawings of plant and some 60 bird and animal drawings. The guide is available at the entrance of the park in a pamphlet box. You are welcome to take it home for other walks on Denman representing the BC Coastal Douglas-fir bioclimatic zone.
We are happy to announce Lynn Weaver as our new Park Steward to tidy up the pathways and stock up pamphlets in the box for you. For 2025 we plan to bring the somewhat hidden Park sign the forefront and create wooden plant labels to place with a number of plants. In that way the little forest becomes and outdoor education park or class room. We hope to see many of you enjoying the park as spring arrives.
