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Soapbox: CP needs to treat Arbutus Corridor gardeners with respect

We have had a plot between Pine and Fir Street since the day it became available in 2006. It has been not just a source of food but of inspiration and education for me and my two young children, who were babies at the time we acquired the plot.
Michelle Boey
Michelle Boey and her son Arien, 9, and daughter Sarah, 7, tend to a community garden on West Sixth Avenue. photo Dan Toulgoet

We have had a plot between Pine and Fir Street since the day it became available in 2006.

It has been not just a source of food but of inspiration and education for me and my two young children, who were babies at the time we acquired the plot.

Through the years, they have learned how wasteland can be transformed into something amazing. They also learned the value of nature and nurturing of plants and ecosystems, among so many other things.

One of the most beloved features of our garden are the birch trees. We saved them from demolition as saplings on nearby condo sites and planted them on our plot near the walking path. They have since become a haven for birds and insects and are a source of shade and beauty to all who pass by.

They are like children to us as we have watched them grow year by year. To think of these trees being destroyed, along with the rest of our garden and so many others, is heartbreaking and devastating to say the least.

We all assumed CP Rail had some sort of conscience and would be more progressive environmentally as a large corporation. Rather, they have shown no regard for our years of hard work and interest in beautifying their land for the good of all.  

Can their approach not be more humane and compassionate? They have plenty of space between the tracks and start of the gardens to do whatever developing they plan to do. A letter from CP Rail in response to Vancouver-Point Grey NDP MLA David Eby states their reason for demolishing the gardens are to keep their employees safe while working. 

I guess they didn’t notice while mowing down the blackberry bushes (that many look forward to picking from by late summer) that the gardens are not exactly a dangerous place.

Personally, we love the railway tracks that are presently in the area. We even love trains and I am not against CP Rail running them in some capacity. I only question why they are being so harsh in their relations with us. We, as gardeners, feel terrorized by their notices and signs and lack of empathy to work with us to preserve what we have lovingly created.

Michelle Boey is an artist and conservationist who says she loves to create beautiful environments while working in harmony with nature. She is mother “to two nature loving, ever-inspiring children, Arien and Sarah.”