On Oct. 3, Trinity Western University celebrated two years of environmental preservation, scientific discovery, and community engagement in the Blaauw Eco-Forest, formerly known as the McLellan Park Forest in Glen Valley.
A $2.5 million donation from the Blaauw family to TWU in 2013 saved the forest from a bulldozer.
The day-long celebration under blue skies inside the forest, located at 257A Street off 84 Avenue, drew attention to the relationship between art and science. Poems hung from trees with string, poetry was read outloud and an interpretive dance was done among the tall timbers. A conservation group formed to save the forest, called Watchers of Langley Forests (WOLF) hosted a similar event in 2012.
“We want to celebrate with art because that’s what saved the forest in the first place,” said David Clements, a professor of biology and environmental studies at TWU. “The forest is more than something utilitarian. It’s meant to inspire people like this one has. We take trees for granted, but people have seen the trees in the Blaauw forest to mean much more than wood. There’s deep meaning there.”
The forest has also enabled and inspired the field work of several TWU biology students. Curtis Abney discovered that red-legged frogs, a rare species, were thriving in the forest. Beth Guirr discovered non-vascular plants and a bog there.
The donation to TWU was made by the Blaauw family in honour of Thomas Blaauw, a local farmer. In exchange for the donation, TWU will keep the land in perpetuity. Most of the trees in the forest are around 140 years old.