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Central Park: Lions, bees, mail delivery, oh my

The two Stanley Park lions smashed by vandals on the weekend will soon be repaired says Vision Vancouver park board vice-chair Constance Barnes.
lions
Repairing the damaged lions sculptures is estimated to cost between $700 to $800. photo Dan Toulgoet

The two Stanley Park lions smashed by vandals on the weekend will soon be repaired says Vision Vancouver park board vice-chair Constance Barnes.

This is the second time the lions, located on Stanley Park Drive by Prospect Point, not the Lions Gate Bridge, have been vandalized since 2010.

This time one of the statues had its face almost completely smashed off and the second suffered damage to its paws and nose. The two large lions that mark the north-bound entrance to the Lions Gate Bridge, created by sculptor Charles Marega, were left intact.

Barnes says a mold is being made by an artist to repair the damage at a cost of between $700 and $800. As for what it will cost to repair the damaged karma of the vandals themselves, it has yet to be determined.

Beelieve it
Vision Vancouver commissioner Niki Sharma successfully passed a motion of order Monday night that will encourage the city’s bee and butterfly populations.

Sharma asked staff to develop strategies for supporting pollinators in some parks and streets as part of the board’s Biodiversity and Urban Forest strategies.

Staff will now be directed to work with stewardship groups, community gardeners and others to raise awareness about the value of pollinators, facilitate habitat enhancement projects and assess and monitor pollinator populations.

Staff will work with the VanDusen Botanical Garden Association, Environmental Youth Alliance and Hives for Humanity, among others, to develop a plan for promoting pollinators across the city this spring.  Staff will also be directed to test methods for enhancing pollinators in parks, such as creating un-mowed meadows, planting flowering trees and shrubs, using more native plants and restoring winter habitats.

I might point out the “meadow” look is already a trend in some park-board managed green spaces due to cuts to maintenance so that should help speed things up. Nevertheless, with bumble bee, honey bee and butterfly populations declining across the globe due to pesticide use, habitat loss and industrial agriculture, it’s important municipalities take responsibility in supporting these pollinators.

Going postal
Barnes also brought a notice of motion forward at Monday night’s meeting, but this time it was about mail delivery, not a typical park board issue.

But Barnes is concerned Canada Post’s shift from home delivery to the use of community mailboxes will negatively impact the city’s seniors and persons with disabilities and that, she says, does in fact fall under the board’s mandate.

Barnes is also concerned with the location of these community mailboxes and the litter, land-use, parking problems, theft and vandalism that often accompany them.

Barnes is worried Canada Post may consider some park and green spaces in the city as ideal locations for these super boxes and she wants it on the record that choice will not be an option. Barnes wants Vision park board chair Aaron Jasper to write a letter to Mayor Gregor Robertson outlining the board’s concerns and making it clear there will be no mailboxes on parkland.

sthomas@vancourier.com
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