Club Parks

4 07, 2024

Centennial Geocaching

By Alison Colwell|2024-07-31T20:51:06-07:00July 4th, 2024|Categories: Club Parks|0 Comments

My kids were little when I started geocaching with them. It was a great way to explore other islands, as locals tend to hide caches in their favourite spots, so geocaching can get you off the beaten path and discovering hidden beaches, parks and trails that we’d never have found otherwise.

For anyone who’s new to geocaching – some basics. It’s treasure hunting with a GPS. We started with a handheld model, and just entered in the cache coordinates and set out. Nowadays most people use their phones. (And if you want to explore geocaching as a hobby or fun thing to do with the kids, head to geocaching.com and download the app.)

The Galiano Club has been a steward for island green spaces since 1948 when Bluffs Park came into being. The Club manages the Nature Preserves of Mt Galiano and The Bluffs, home of the Japanese Charcoal Pit Kiln and the Community Forest, and to commemorate the Galiano Clubs Centennial year we’ve created a geocaching scavenger hunt right here in the Galiano Clubs Parks.Two local artists, Simon Doty-Housden and Keirah Kerr, helped design a commemorative coin that will be given to the first 100 people who complete their passport and find at least 4 of the 6 caches. Passports will be available at the Jamboree, from the website and at Club or Food Program Events.

The passports contain the coordinates for each cache, and a spot for the designated stamp. (There will be a different stamp in each geocache.) Find the cache, stamp your passport, then re-hide the cache carefully. Collect at least four (of the 6) stamps and mail your completed passport to: The Galiano Club, 141 Sturdies Bay Rd., Galiano Island, BC, V0N 1P0. The first 100 completed passports will receive a commemorative coin.

The Galiano Club is always looking for volunteers to help in the parks, and we gratefully accept donations to help clear trails and support the work of our volunteer parks committee.

Download PDF Version

Centennial Cache Passport

1 06, 2021

The Bluffs: Notes

By Allan Forget|2023-09-13T12:46:55-07:00June 1st, 2021|Categories: Club Parks, History|0 Comments

by Allan Forget

The Bluffs was created in 1948 as a result of a land donation by Mr. & Mrs. Max Enke and by the financial donation of several dozen islanders. The Galiano Club accepted title to the 139 ha of land in October of that year. In 1951 a Deed of Trust was signed setting out just how the Bluffs was to be managed. This Deed was amended by the Club in 1988 re-designating the land as a Nature Protection Area. The Galiano Club continues to manage the Bluffs, on behalf of our island community, to this day.

In the early 1960s, as both the 1966 BC Centennial and the 1967 Canadian Centennial approached, the Galiano Club Board of Directors began to look for a way to commemorate these historical events. (The Club had commemorated the earlier 1958 BC Centennial having a water well dug in the Community Hall grounds, a first.)
The Board, under President Margaret Robson, eventually decided to erect a stone arch at each of the two roadway entrances to the Bluffs. Directors EJ Bambrick and L. Walton took on the project. After some investigation the expense and the difficulties of the project caused it to be abandoned. Fred Robson offered to instead locate and place two large sandstone slabs at each roadway entrance to the Bluffs; three of these stone blocks remain.

In 1988, for the 40th anniversary of the Club accepting title to the Bluffs, the Board of Directors, under President Bill Scoones, decided that something more was needed to identify the roadway entrances to the land. Under the guidance of Director Mike Sharp two cedar wood sign boards simply reading “The Bluffs” were created, the letters beautifully carved by Steve Oscko. One sign was installed at each roadway entrance to the Bluffs. In the late 2000s the Club Board, under President Don Anderson, arranged for Kurt Ziwicki to clean and repair both of these signs. Kurt also highlighted the letters with a red paint. These signs also remain in place, welcoming all to our island’s oldest community park, the Bluffs.

1 06, 2021

Active Page Article June, 2021

By Galiano Club|2023-09-13T12:37:16-07:00June 1st, 2021|Categories: Active Page Articles, Club News, Club Parks|0 Comments

Galiano Club Update, June 2021

By Jack Garton

The summer is opening its door, and by the time of this publication we will have enjoyed some of its warm welcome. Hot spring days are a wonderful thing. The feeling of warmth on our skin, the smell of life everywhere, colours bursting from trees and flowers; a sweet relaxation starts to take over.
However, before long, the reverie includes hopes for rain and fear of another dangerous wildfire season. As someone who prefers warm sun, there’s an unease underneath these sunny days. Maybe even a tiny bit of guilt for enjoying the heat. No, I think it’s more a sense of responsibility that pairs with the enjoyment. These recent years of BC wildfires have driven home just how interdependent we all are, humans and our environment.

The Galiano Club manages some beautiful outdoor recreation lands on the island, which we hope islanders make use of, but it’s always good to mention that during the summer it’s important to check the Fire Danger Rating, and to be very cautious if it’s High or Extreme.

Thanks to the volunteers who helped pull Scotch Broom from the trails recently, it’s a job that really benefits from many hands. It’s also a chance to spend some time with fellow islanders, and enjoy some much-needed social connection. This community has always had a knack for pulling together to get hard things done.

A note that the Galiano Club’s 96th Annual General Meeting (via Zoom) has been postponed until June 27. Members will receive an email with further details.

1 05, 2021

Active Page Article May, 2021

By Galiano Club|2023-09-13T12:33:25-07:00May 1st, 2021|Categories: Active Page Articles, Club News, Club Parks|0 Comments

Galiano Club AGM

While we hope that everyone is enjoying the spring and spending time outside, alas COVID 19 is still with us and this year’s Galiano Club AGM will be on Zoom, scheduled for May 30. If you would like to vote on any of our resolutions, contribute to the discussions, or get familiar with the many ways in which the Club stewards its lands and assists the community on Galiano, put it in your calendar! To vote in the AGM, all you need to do is renew your membership for 2021 at galianoclub.org/about/membership. It costs $10 for the year and all Galiano residents or property owners are eligible. Non-residents who wish to support the club are also welcome as Associate Members (without voting privileges). The last AGM included lively discussion and debate, with the highest attendance on record. Hope to see you there.

Easter Chocolate Sale

Our latest chocolate fundraiser was an egg-celllent success! A big thank you to the volunteers who helped make and sell the chocolates, we appreciate all your help. Like previous chocolate sales, everything sold out. The very last bag of chocolates went to…….Buzz!

Broom Blitz

It’s that time of year again when the blooming broom needs to be cut. We are going to focus on a couple of areas in the Community Forest. We will be going out several times in the month of May, so if you have any time to spare and would like to help please email Diana at dburgoy@gmail.com.

2 04, 2021

Opening of Mt Galiano Trail — 1991

By Allan Forget|2022-03-15T22:00:13-07:00April 2nd, 2021|Categories: Club Parks|0 Comments

In 1991, following an energetic & creative fundraising campaign by the island, the Mt Galiano lands were purchased & title was given to the Galiano Club. The following summer a group of volunteers created the hiking trail — from the Active Pass Dr entrance to the summit — which exists today. Coincidentally, 1992 was the 200th anniversary of the historic meeting of the Spanish Naval Officer, Dionisio Alcala Galiano and the English Naval Capt. George Vancouver (each Captain was charting the western NA coastline for their respective nation) just off the coast of what is now called Galiano Island. It was decided to commemorate this event by naming the hiking trail after Dionisio Galiano, by inviting the Vancouver-based Consul General of Spain, His Excellency Jose Ayala & his wife Ceridad (seen here arriving in Ken Allen’s 1932 Roll Royce), to attend the trail dedication ceremony held on Oct.8th, Dionisio Galiano’s birthdate. Afterwards, a La Zarzuela — a Spanish lyric-dramatic genre that alternates between spoken and sung scenes — was held at the Community Hall MC’d by Galiano Club Director, Debbie Holmes &, Club Historian, Andrew Loveridge. As part of the ceremony, held during the Club’s annual Blackberry Festival, a portrait of Officer Galiano, completed by Galiano artist, William Beddels, was presented to the Consul as a gift for HM King Juan Carlos of Spain. Later, 232 daffodil bulbs were planted in the Hall grounds (232 being the number of years since Officer Galiano’s birth).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Fh50jYlj58

11 05, 2020

The Enke Monument (the Bluffs)

By Galiano Club|2023-09-13T12:41:51-07:00May 11th, 2020|Categories: Club Parks, History|0 Comments

by Allan Forget

In the early autumn of 1972 the Galiano Club sponsored a public ceremony at the Bluffs viewpoint to dedicate a commemorative stone monument to Max & Marion Enke, former island residents whose land donation, in 1948, started the creation of what is now known as ‘the Bluffs’. The inscription on the attached bronze plaque reads:

‘Erected September 1st, 1972, by the residents of Galiano Island in grateful memory of MAX ENKE and MARION ENKE 1884 -1971 1879 -1961 whose generosity made possible the establishment of Bluffs Park, thereby preserving in its natural beauty the land they loved, for all people, for all time.’

The monument project was spearheaded by Jean Lockwood, long-serving Galiano Club Secretary & President, assisted by Club Trustees, Roy Harding, Harold Dyer. Fred Robson & Pat Weaver had helped with the installation. The granite stone had been quarried locally, the bronze plaque created by the Ornamental Bronze Co. (Vancouver) at a cost of $163.46. Jean Lockwood had composed the inscription in consultation with the surviving Enke children, Dr. Stephen Enke (Washington, DC) & Mrs. Ruth Enke Chambers (Victoria, BC). Both Enke children, with other family members, attended the dedication ceremony.

Galiano Club President, Corinne Snell, led the ceremony. The Enke family members were introduced by Donald New who then gave a brief history of the property and “the efforts on the part of old time residents to make it into parkland”.

A refreshments table had been set-up nearby serving coffee, tea & desserts.

Mr. Max Enke arrived on Galiano Is. in 1907 a 23 yr old from Manchester, England not wanting to part of the family’s rabbit fur treatment business (located in Belguim), wishing instead to be a colonial farmer. His ship landed at the old Georgeson Bay wharf so Mr. Enke’s first view of Galiano would have been the open area between Mt Galiano and the Bluffs, the area now known as ‘the Valley’. Eventually Mr. Enke bought several large properties there, farmland & forest stretching from the Valley to the high Bluffs overlooking Active Pass. With the help of labourers brought over from Belgium, a successful animal farming operation was soon running well. Mr. Enke later married Marion Lejeune, another Manchester native, in a ceremony held in Quebec City with the couple eventually having two children, Ruth & Stephen. In addition to the Galiano farm, the family had a residence in Victoria, BC. Mr. Enke returned to Europe in 1929 to help with the family business in Belgium leaving his Galiano farm lands in the hands of a manager.

Before his departure however Mr. Enke had been approached by Mr. Donald New & other islanders with the idea of purchasing his acreage immediately above the Bluffs for the future use as a community park. This area had long been a popular hiking/picnicing destination for islanders & the idea of it becoming a park had long been discussed. Mr. Enke agreed to the idea and set a $1000 price on the 94 acres. The tough job of fundraising began by a sizeable group of islanders under the auspices of the Galiano Island Development Association (GIDA) soon began. One of the more popular fundraisers was a weekly gramophone concert held in the home of one of the Galiano Club founders, Mr. Paul Scoones.

Meanwhile, in Belguim, Mr. Enke had been arrested as an “enemy alien” by the invading German Army and placed in a Prisoner of War Camp where he would stay for the full duration of WW2. Not until 1947, after his return to Canada & to Galiano, would Mr. Enke & the fundraisers be able to once again connect. The $1000 had been successfully raised —- with the help of a good number of individual financial donations (known as the Original Donors) —- but the cost of the required land survey still needed to be tackled. Mr.Enke generously agreed to cover this new cost and also to donate an additional section of land which brought the total acreage being given to 139 hectares (342 acres). By this time the GIDA membership was no longer interested in becoming parkland owners so the title of what has come to be known as The Bluffs was offered to & accepted by, in 1948, the Galiano Club. A Deed of Trust was created in 1951 and the Club has owned and managed the parkland ever since. Mr. & Mrs. Enke eventually left the island deciding to reside full-time in Victoria. It was in that city that both died & are buried.

(More information about the acquisition & about the management of the The Bluffs can be found in the 2020 Management Plan displayed on the Galiano Club’s website.)

12 04, 2020

COVID-19 Update

By Emma Luna Davis|2022-03-20T21:09:11-07:00April 12th, 2020|Categories: Club News, Club Parks, Club Programs, Food Bank, Food Program, Frozen Meals|0 Comments

In response to the pandemic, the Food Program has adapted our regular programs. It’s clear that when it comes to food security, some people are more affected by the pandemic than others.

We are partnering with St. Margaret’s of Scotland church to run the Galiano Food Bank, which re-opened in February. There are a number of people on the island who rely on the Food Bank and the demand has increased during the pandemic as many community members are facing financial insecurity. We are very grateful for the swell of donations we’ve received from the community, including the CRD, and from the volunteers who have been doing grocery runs to make sure we have enough – thank you very much for your support. And a big thanks also to Daystar, the Corner Store and Galiano Trading for your support making sure we can bring in groceries.

To meet the needs of people who are self-isolating or in quarantine, and who are struggling to afford groceries, we have begun a new service in partnership with the Better at Home program, delivering over a dozen hampers of food each week. This program relies on over a dozen superstar volunteers who have stepped up to help out, cooking, driving, and doing outreach – thank you all!

As a result of both of these programs, we’re facing a pretty steep grocery bill each week, and we’ve lost the revenue of our Soup & Bread lunches, so again, we’re very grateful for the generous wave of donations from the community, as well as from the United Way.

We are exploring other avenues for financial support including announcements from the Federal Government about support for organizations and Food Banks.

If you’re able to contribute, we need your support to keep our programs going and feed vulnerable islanders.

Please donate online via Canada Helps at https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/the-galiano-club/ (select the ‘Food Bank’ or ‘COVID-19 Meal Production and Delivery’ fund)
Or mail a cheque mailed to the Galiano Club or St. Margaret of Scotland Church (note ‘food bank’) Or e-transfer to galianoclub@gmail.com, note ‘food bank’.

12 04, 2020

Galiano Club’s lands in the time of COVID-19 – Parks Notice – April 2020

By Alison Colwell|2020-05-11T23:32:39-07:00April 12th, 2020|Categories: Club News, Club Parks|0 Comments

From the Galiano Club during the coronavirus pandemic:

The parklands we manage — the Bluffs, Mt Galiano, the Community Forest — remain open. Fresh air and exercise are essential elements in maintaining good physical and mental health; this is most especially vital just now. So, we want our hiking trails, our parks, to be kept available for our neighbours to use. But, while using the trails and the vehicle parking areas it is most important to remember the current pandemic situation, the precautions outlined by our local health experts — most especially the social distancing. And, to wash your hands well before & after each hike/walk.

The staff at the Galiano Health Care Centre and those with the Galiano Emergency Program all agree with this decision by the Galiano Club Board. But, they caution that the board may need to revisit this decision as needed.