A large group of North Vancouver residents braved wet and windy conditions in order to get digging and dirty Saturday afternoon, as part of an initiative encouraging people to plant and play in Moodyville.
Under the shelter of a canopy at Moodyville Park, City of North Vancouver Mayor Linda Buchanan welcomed a crowd of dozens for a community event which featured the planting of more than 100 trees.
“Trees have always been an extremely important part of Moodyville’s history,” said Buchanan, noting the neighbourhood’s early incarnation as a company town formed around a sawmill business in the early-1860s, prior to being incorporated by the City of North Vancouver. “I think it is a bit poetic that we’re back here today, really, at the roots of where we are. And so today this area is being revitalized into what was a very sustainable area.”
At the newly opened Moodyville Park, where a whole bunch of people are planting and playing in the rain pic.twitter.com/110OJZiizg
— Ben Bengtson (@BenBengtson) November 16, 2019
The City of North Vancouver was the receipt of a grant worth $50,000 from Tree Canada and CN Rail in order to undertake the legacy forest project.
As part of CN Rail’s 100th anniversary celebrations, the railway company is undertaking a countrywide initiative to help plant 100 trees in several major cities across Canada.
“This council wants to be the healthiest small city in the world,” said Buchanan. “Trees are such an important part of our community. They improve our physical and mental health, they help us to capture carbon and it boosts surrounding ecosystems of plants, birds, bugs, and all the other animals that we find in our urban forests.”
As many helping hands got busy digging– with the help of everyone from volunteer landscapers, city employees, and little kids looking to test out their green thumbs – the new playground at Moodyville Park got ample attention from youngsters more preoccupied with wanting to play than plant.
The new playground area is largely constructed from wooden natural materials and features additions such as a bike pump track specifically for young children and a two-way zipline.
The trees were largely planted along a large patch of earth adjacent to the playground area facing the nearby Spirit Trail.
