Kelowna Parks Challenge – Trip #15
For this week’s Kelowna Parks Challenge adventure I explored three Kelowna parks that had fallen through the cracks on the Official Map. Each of these parks were not really near other parks I hadn’t visited, so I decided to collect them together in a bit of a housekeeping trip.
Nevertheless, they were each special in their own way, and I am glad I took the time to visit them.
Read on for my impressions and reflections!
Robert Lake Regional Park
This is a small park, but it protects a regionally-significant ecological feature. Located northeast of the Glenmore Valley, Robert Lake is the best example of a salt lake in the entire Okanagan Valley. As such it hosts over 140 species of bird every year and is valued by those who live nearby.
Robert Lake is surrounded, for the most part, by actively-farmed agricultural lands, and the park itself consists of a very small area. In addition to a hundred metres, or so, of shoreline in the southwest corner, the only land in the park is a short gravel spit that is fully taken up by two parking spots and an informational sign. There is no trail around the lake and there is no way to walk around it without trespassing.
Even so, for its ecological significance alone, this park has great value, and it is treasured by local birdwatchers. The best season is said to be the spring. The water was high after recent rains during our visit and we only saw a few ducks (the rest appeared to be at the Valley Glen Wetland!), but we enjoyed our visit very much.
Washrooms and Drinking Fountains: There is no drinking fountain in this park. There is no washroom in this park.
Dog Rules: Because it is an ecologically sensitive nature preserve, dogs are not allowed in this park.
Shetland Park
This park is found in a subdivision southeast of the Robert Lake playa, on the other side of the ridge that separates Glenmore from Ellison. Here, a high-pressure gas pipeline runs through the middle of the neighbourhood, and the land above it has been designated as a public recreation area.
As such, the park is in three segments, divided by residential streets. It reminds one of a linear park, such as Brandt’s Creek, but it is only planted with grass and shrubs. Dog-walking is allowed on the trail that runs the length of the park, and I’m sure it provides a welcome resource for local residents. This was most evident at the highest point in the park, where we saw evidence that many people were taking their dogs up there and not picking up after them.
The pipeline continues up the hill north of the park and along the ridge towards the university. The entire pipeline corridor has been zoned as parkland, so I assume the city would like to continue the Shetland trail in an official way someday. Perhaps they will eventually formally connect it to the parallel trail that runs through the protected valley to the west, at the bottom of the ridge. I look forward to keeping my eye on that situation.
Washrooms and Drinking Fountains: There is no drinking fountain in this park. There is no washroom in this park.
Dog Rules: Dogs are allowed in this park, but only on-leash.
Barlee Park
This park, located in the western part of the Midtown Urban Centre, near the geographic centre of Kelowna, is a fascinating study in how parkland can be repurposed to meet the changing needs of nearby residents.
Now occupying half of an entire city block, it appears this park used to be half its current size. The lot that comprises the southern half is still zoned as Urban Residential, and until recently had an old house on it. The building has recently been removed, however, and a playground is currently being built where it stood.
The centre of the park, on both sides of the cedar hedge that marks the property line, is taken up by a seemingly well-used community garden. My guess is that the park originally looked more like the northern quarter does now: lawn, trees, and a bench. The expansion into the lot to the south, the addition of the community garden and now the playground are all good decisions that help this park work for the people of its neighbourhood. This will be even more important once a Midtown Plan is drawn up since it is a safe bet that that neighbourhood will be designated for densification.
Not close enough to my route through Capri-Landmark to be included in that adventure, nor close enough to Mission Creek Regional Park to get tacked on to that one, it was only ever going to take a list-tidying trip like this one to visit it, but I’m glad I did.
Washrooms and Drinking Fountains: There is no drinking fountain in this park. There is no washroom in this park.
Dog Rules: Because this park is primarily a playground and a garden, dogs are not allowed in this park.
Reflections
Odds ‘n’ Ends
This was the second trip, after Trip #4 to Southeast Kelowna, where I deliberately went out to visit parks that were geographically isolated from the others. It was also the first trip where I went to visit a park that had become isolated due to being not included in walks to adjacent neighbourhoods. This approach makes for a disjointed adventure, since I walk in the parks, but do not walk between the parks.
I assume this type of trip will become more necessary as I head toward the end of the project next spring. For now, however, there are still a lot of enticing clusters of parks for me to visit.
Late Autumn Interest
I used to think late autumn, which basically lasts all winter on the coast, was the least attractive season. Without the decoration of either leaves and flowers or a blanket of snow, I didn’t understand what was beautiful about landscapes filled with death and decay.
Now, though, I have learned to appreciate the various browns of the end of the fall for their own beauty. Though joy can be found in knowing that the buds and leaf litter hide the coming glories of spring, there are more overt masterpieces being painted by nature at this time. Though rendered with a more subdued palette, they are perhaps more elegant for all that.
Since I am going to continue to need to visit four parks a week to meet my challenge, I am looking forward to the parallel challenge of trying to capture the beauty of this time of year (and also the snowy landscapes soon to come!).
Conclusion
I have heard that Kelowna often gets socked in by cloud for all of December and January, so there may be more weeks like this one coming soon. Obviously, I can’t just wait until spring to visit the 130 parks left to go. I refuse to fall behind or fail this challenge.
With the addition of this week’s three parks, I have seen seventy-three out of two hundred and three parks in one hundred and twenty days. That makes 36% of the list checked off in 33% of the time. I’m still ahead, but won’t stay that way if I keep seeing only three parks in a week.
Where will I go next time? Stay tuned to find out!
