Havenwood Park is a 16.5 hectare (40 acre) parcel of land located in Colwood, British Columbia. Complex topography, comprised of moderately to steeply sloped hillsides with an elevation range of 100m to 165m above sea level it contains bedrock outcrop Garry Oak ecosystems, wetland/riparian habitat, permanent/ephemeral watercourses and a mixed cover of second growth coniferous and deciduous trees.
Under the City of Colwood’s zoning this park is defined as “a park devoted to the retention, preservation and enhancement of natural, historic or landscape features and is used primarily for informal or passive recreation purposes.”
Here is a slideshow showing some of the natural diversity found in Havenwood Park:
Havenwood Park was established as a nature park because of it’s environmental values and the related outdoor recreational opportunities it would provide in the heart of Colwood a growing community on Vancouver Island.
There are numerous recreational trails that visitors can use without harming the natural amenities of the park.
A vision statement is a declaration that describes an ultimate intent for something. The vision statement for Havenwood Park is:
To manage Havenwood Park as a nature park for the conservation of the natural environment and the benefit of the community’s residents.
The Havenwood Park Management Plan provides the following goals derived from the vision statement for the park and are as follows:
1. Conserve the natural amenities of the park.
2. Provide the park infrastructure and facilities necessary to support passive public recreation and enjoyment of the park.
3. Establish a management structure and procedures that help achieve the above goals.
To help achieve these goals the City of Colwood has established a conservation covenant agreement for Havenwood Park with the Habitat Acquistion Trust (H.A.T.).
City of Colwood Havenwood Park link:
http://www.colwood.ca/discover-colwood/parks-trails/havenwood-park
Habitat Acquisition Trust (H.A.T.) link: http://www.hat.bc.ca/
One the advantages of the establishment of Havenwood Park is the broad spectrum of public support that it had and continues to have. This community capital can be drawn upon to extend the resources of the local government in order to provide an effective model of partnership for the management of nature parks.
The “Friends of Havenwood Park” community volunteer group has formed to help extend local government resources and assist H.A.T. in conserving the natural amenities of the park.
With this model the financial, administrative and technical resources of the City of Colwood can be complemented with the unique resources of the community as a whole. These resources may include work parties, fund-raising, public education, park hosts/stewards and other possibilities.
The community side of a community partnership is typically grass roots based and may include interest groups, stakeholders, neighbours, the general public and public and private institutions. The objective of a community partnership is for the local government to work with the unique resources of the community to manage the long-term use and stewardship of the nature park.
If you are interested in joining our FOHP volunteer group please use this form to connect with us:
To help bring awareness to Havenwood Park this blog features photographs and videos taken in the park.
Havenwood Park video link:
Wonderful! This beautiful park needs more friends to help sustain its beauty.
This is great, I hope you find all the support you need!
It was great to find out about your blog this morning at the HAT event. This is a wonderful initiative Gary! I really appreciate that you are raising awareness about our natural surroundings and hopefully this blog can also help facilitate more community work parties and gatherings in the park.
We loved this park while we were visiting your lovely island, please, please look after it, this and all your parks is what makes the island so special..