| “I’ve been volunteering in this park for about 45 years.” | | “I’ve been volunteering in this park for about 45 years.” | <div class="ExternalClass917550522E9B497E8696C5C707084C0E"><p>“In the late 1960s, Burnaby was running into problems with disposal of garbage. So the idea was that they would use this area as a garbage dump. Our group became very active politically; our plan was to preserve this lake. Our group became known as the Burnaby Lake Park Association. I’ve been volunteering in this park for about 45 years. It makes me feel good to see how the park is being used. I could not imagine it being a garbage dump. It is a very pleasant surprise to see the number of people using it.”<br></p></div> | | https://metrovancouver.org/services/regional-parks/PublishingImages/humans-of-regional-parks-burnaby-lake-2.jpg, “I’ve been volunteering in this park for about 45 years.”
https://metrovancouver.org/services/regional-parks/PublishingImages/humans-of-regional-parks-burnaby-lake-2.jpg | |
| “It’s like visiting an old friend.” | | “It’s like visiting an old friend.” | <div class="ExternalClass6D0D463DF9EF4EC385688279842029C3"><p>“It was 1978. I was in university, studying forestry and saw an advertisement for a park interpreter here at Burnaby Lake Regional Park. This badge I’m wearing was one of my first name tags! The thing that really sold me was working with kids and seeing the expression on their faces. They have that joyous excited look and that’s what I feel in the park too. I retired in 2015 after about 27 years with Metro Vancouver Regional Parks. Now I get to come to the park when I want. It’s like visiting an old friend. I hope to visit this park for the rest of my life.”</p></div> | | https://metrovancouver.org/services/regional-parks/PublishingImages/humans-of-regional-parks-burnaby-lake-5.jpg, “It’s like visiting an old friend.”
https://metrovancouver.org/services/regional-parks/PublishingImages/humans-of-regional-parks-burnaby-lake-5.jpg | |
| “It’s a bear buffet out here.” | | “It’s a bear buffet out here.” | <div class="ExternalClassD80B6FCC50FE4C94BBAD88866B5F1086"><p>“I like this park because it’s got all sorts of food for me to munch on … fresh green grass, energy-packed berries. Plus ants and beetle larvae – I have to grub around in the logs to find those tasty morsels. I’m telling you, it’s a bear buffet out here. Earlier this afternoon some humans got too close to me, so close that I could hear what they were saying. They were talking about how bears like to eat people. That's ridiculous! You’d have to chew through all those clothes – yuck. But I can get really protective of my space. So please stay far away from me. I'm sure you humans are all nice enough, but you smell awful.”</p></div> | | https://metrovancouver.org/services/regional-parks/PublishingImages/humans-of-regional-parks-burnaby-lake-6.jpg, “It’s a bear buffet out here.”
https://metrovancouver.org/services/regional-parks/PublishingImages/humans-of-regional-parks-burnaby-lake-6.jpg | |
| “Nice to find a new place to walk.” | | “Nice to find a new place to walk.” | <div class="ExternalClassA56AE63066FC422EA9DBA0148DD70D10">“It’s our first time to Burnaby Lake Regional Park. It’s quiet and pretty here.”<p>“We would come back here. It’s beautiful. Nice to find a new place to walk.”</p><p>“Our daughter wanted to go somewhere new. She always plans where to go. When she was little she followed our plans and now we follow hers.”</p></div> | | https://metrovancouver.org/services/regional-parks/PublishingImages/humans-of-regional-parks-burnaby-lake-4.jpg, “Nice to find a new place to walk.”
https://metrovancouver.org/services/regional-parks/PublishingImages/humans-of-regional-parks-burnaby-lake-4.jpg | |
| “This is what we should preserve. This is beautiful. This is nature.” | | “This is what we should preserve. This is beautiful. This is nature.” | <div class="ExternalClass49B0796F70FC47DB89AE4633B6A23685"><p>“When I say ‘I’m going to the lake’, my husband knows which one – Burnaby Lake! It’s my favorite. I’m into photographing wildlife. Just the other day, one of these blackbirds was attacking a heron and riding piggyback – on a great blue heron! There’s some birds that come through that are rare and that’s a treat. There’s also bobcats, bears, coyotes. Parks are important. This is what we should preserve. This is beautiful. This is nature.”</p></div> | | https://metrovancouver.org/services/regional-parks/PublishingImages/humans-of-regional-parks-burnaby-lake-3.jpg, “This is what we should preserve. This is beautiful. This is nature.”
https://metrovancouver.org/services/regional-parks/PublishingImages/humans-of-regional-parks-burnaby-lake-3.jpg | |
| “Catching the Spirit is about promoting environmental stewardship which is very important to me.” | | “Catching the Spirit is about promoting environmental stewardship which is very important to me.” | <div class="ExternalClassB86B5734B558405C8AFD2C8943D21CE6"><p>“I started as a participant in Catching the Spirit Youth Society and then I became a Peer Leader. We do camps here. You get to expand your leadership skills by leading kids who are your age or sometimes older. Catching the Spirit is about promoting environmental stewardship which is very important to me. It feels very rewarding if someone leaves camp with an interest in starting an environmental club at their own school or getting their parents to start composting at home. I know that they are going to make a difference in their own community.”</p><br></div> | | https://metrovancouver.org/services/regional-parks/PublishingImages/humans-of-regional-parks-burnaby-lake-1.jpg, “Catching the Spirit is about promoting environmental stewardship which is very important to me.”
https://metrovancouver.org/services/regional-parks/PublishingImages/humans-of-regional-parks-burnaby-lake-1.jpg | |