General Site Updates

The cogs are moving on new projects at the BCFDC! - Photo by Marcie Callewaert

The crew at the BCFDC are a busy bunch, always with new projects on the go. Recently the Forest Fire Lookout Tower was repainted, with some help from a great bunch of guys - The Thunderbird Firefighting Crew from Port Alberni. They also assisted on the repainting of the Ranger Station - which had a new roof installed last summer. The maintenance guys at the centre have done a great job finishing off the trim work on the station. Hopefully the exhibits in the Ranger Station will soon be open to the public again.

Fire Crew repainting the Ranger Station - Photo by Marcie Callewaert

A unique view of the work that was done on the Forest Fire Lookout Tower - Photo by Marcie Callewaert

The concession received a facelift this season, with an expansion on the kitchen area and the introduction of some new products, such as candy bags, chocolate bars and UDDER GUYS ICE CREAM! The best of the best is here with the locally made Udder Guys Ice Cream, based out of Cowichan Bay. Concession has also been given a well deserved coat of paint ( it seems like were dealing with an awful lot of that liquid) by the guys and summer staff.

If you have not already noticed on one of your recent visits, Concession has also been opened up to the parking lot so that visitors may come and watch the train without coming paying admission to the site. They can also purchase ice cream and other products from concession from this area as well! The new picket fence was constructed out of recycled timber and painted by the summer students (mostly).

That wonderful "P" word is about to come up again... The Glynne Jones building is getting a fresh coat of paint on its windowsills and doors to match the crisp new paint on the nearby concession. This is still in progress, so don't look for miracles by tomorrow!

So lots of painting is going on... as well as construction on a new exhibit behind the post office. The guys are busy dry-walling and restructuring the building in preparation for the power saw exhibit soon to come!

This morning, right beside the aforementioned new exhibit, the fawn was spotted. The lil' guy was chomping down on some grass in the shade of one of our old apple trees. He is about 2 feet tall already at the shoulder and still has his gorgeous spots on a velvety soft looking coat! A flock of quail were also seen on the Somenos Marsh trail - two adults and about 8 youngsters cheeped away as they scurried into the brush. 

There is always work to be done and critters to spot at the BC Forest Discovery Centre. We hope to see you out soon to see our sharp new look and to visit our wonderful and diverse plethora of creatures!

~By Marcie Callewaert