North Vancouver residents have been left shocked after coming across about 20 trees vandalized with graffiti within Heywood Park.
The trees, located in the forest off the trail entrance at West 22nd Street and MacKay Avenue, were defaced with images and markings in red, blue, black, and white spray paint.
Stephen Britten, who lives near the forest that was targeted, said he and his wife first spotted the graffiti on Friday (April 23) around 5 p.m.
“It was quite a shock,” he said. “Some punks went on a rampage with spray cans and just decided to spoil the neighbourhood. I think it’s just bored kids who have got nothing better to do.”
He said he and his wife visit the area, which is part of the MacKay Creek Trail and just to the southeast of Sowden Park, every day to go bird watching and hadn’t seen the vandalism prior to April 23. While he described the spot as being “tucked away,” he said it was well used by other birders and community members.
“It’s been a great little area for us to go birding,” Britten said. “We enjoy just being there and it's such an insult when you see graffiti all over the place. It’s just so sad that sort of thing happens.
“During the week there's a bunch of young kids from the local playschool that go there and have nature studies in the glades. So, I thought it'd be awful if they see that.”
Britten had originally contacted the District of North Vancouver about the discovery on April 23, but was later informed that the area fell into the City of North Vancouver’s boundaries, who he has since informed. He also reported the graffiti to North Vancouver RCMP.
Residents come together to clean vandalized trees
Not wanting the neighbourhood’s children to come across the graffiti, Britten, his fellow birding buddy, Perry Edwards, and around eight other residents came together on Saturday morning to clean the vandalism off their cherished trees.
“We got some brushes and some power tools and cleaned it up,” he said. “We scrubbed and rubbed and scraped for a good three hours on Saturday and we managed to get most of it cleared. We managed to get rid of a lot of the paint, such that if you went there now you probably wouldn’t be able to see.”
Britten said it was “a nice illustration of community care that a bunch of people turned up to help clean up the graffiti.”
“The fact that it is cleared up now gives us a good feeling, but we’ll never know if people are lurking around who could come and do it again,” he said.
Stephanie Smiley, acting manager of communications with the City of North Vancouver, said city staff were “shocked and disappointed by the vandalism of a number of City trees in the forest adjacent to Heywood Park."
“The natural environment is one of the things that makes the city such a great place to live and it is up to all of us to be stewards of these extraordinary spaces,” she said.
She said while the city appreciated the quick actions of neighbours to remove the graffiti, this sort of work was best left to city staff.
“We ask that anyone who notices this type of vandalism on city trees, greenways, trails, or any city space, report it to us immediately so we may remove it,” Smiley said. “This type of graffiti must be removed carefully to protect the trees.”
Sgt. Peter DeVries, spokesman for North Vancouver RCMP, confirmed the vandalism had been reported and an officer had visited the site.
“It is senseless and an unacceptable way to treat the environment and our trees, which we care a lot about,” DeVries said. “If we can find a person who has done something like that, then we will certainly prosecute to whatever extent we're able.”
DeVries said it is “a criminal offence to damage property that belongs to someone else” and any destruction to trees or property in a city park would be considered mischief.
He said police do not have any suspects.
City of North Vancouver residents can report graffiti through the CityFix app or by calling 604-985-7761.
