Designing a Park

Audio Narration

Transcript

It all started with a dream! Anders and Dorrit Olesen wanted to preserve their unique collection of trees and farming legacy in the form of a park for future generations to enjoy. They met with Regional District of Nanaimo Parks Services staff in May 2010 to share their vision for the park. You can see a drawing of Anders’ original vision for the park on the sign, along with a concept sketch of the plaza area.

The agricultural land reserve protects farmland from being developed for non-farming uses. The park was designed to ensure farming can continue on the land. You may have noticed the mown path through the hay field. Farmers in the neighborhood are still using this land to produce crops! Have you ever had trouble finding a parking spot? To preserve farmable land, the parking lot could only be built within the original farmhouse footprint.

This sign has a flip book, showing how some elements of the original farmhouse were transformed into the plaza area. Anders and Dorrit's farmhouse was removed, but its foundations still frame the beautiful plaza we enjoy today. The clay bricks from the patio were saved and repurposed to create the brick gabion benches you can sit on today. The original grape vine now climbs on a new wooden arbour.