Habitat and Biodiversity Enhancements at the former Farm in Queen's Park

Implementation of the Queen’s Park Farm Transition Master Plan (adopted by Council in 2023) will take place during the spring and summer months of 2024. City staff will be collaborating with land-based artist Dr. T’uy’t’tanat Cease Wyss (Skwxwu7mesh, Sto:lo, Hawaiian, Swiss), as well as Indigenous youth artists and creators throughout the process. This plan will make stronger connections between people, land and the systems that sustain life in New Westminster. Explore the completed public consultation process on Be Heard New West.

What’s Happening?

Phase 1 of the farm transition weaves undulating Coast Salish forms into the landscape to restore the soil and create habitat. These restorative features support native fauna and flora, while honouring Indigenous cultures that have been custodians of these unceded and unsurrendered lands and waters since time immemorial:

Hugelkultur: Mounds made from heaping woody material (i.e. boughs, branches and logs from coniferous trees such fir, hemlock, pine and spruce; and branches, leaves, and trunks from deciduous trees such as alder, maple, hazelnut, indigenous plum, maple, poplar, oak). The mounds of woody material are then topped with bark mulch, compost, and nutrient-rich humus soil as the final layer. Over time, the 4 to 5 feet high mounds decompose and settle in place to create a highly fertile, moisture-retaining garden bed for growing plants with minimal watering or fertilizing. This method for establishing plant life is especially relevant through the extended hot, dry periods we are facing as a result of climate change.

Mushroom Wall: Logs are stacked together and inoculated to demonstrate how a variety of mushroom species grow on old logs in the forest. When trees die or fall, they decompose and become part of a nutrient cycle that is vital to a healthy forest ecosystem. Mushroom mycelium often colonize the decaying tree, helping to digest the wood and break it down into soil. There are a diverse range of mushrooms and fungi in the forest that benefit the environment and humans (i.e. as medicine, food source, organic material recyclers and help trees communicate through mycelium networks). It is important to acknowledge that there are also a range of mushrooms that are poisonous to humans and/ or can be a sign of root diseases for trees.

Nurse Log: A fallen tree that provides ecological benefits and support to other plants as it decomposes. Seedlings often sprout and start their growth on the surface of a log demonstrating the process of forest evolution from generation to generation. Nurse logs also provide important cover habitat for small mammals and amphibians helping them to move safely across the forest floor.

Wetland- A wetland ecosystem has standing water for most or all of the year, including during the growing season. This creates conditions that favor the growth of special plants and diverse animal life adapted to wet environments.

Additional improvements at the former farm include: renovation of the outdoor pavilions so they are usable for outdoor public classes/workshops; installation of a wooden boardwalk; and removal of the perimeter chain-link fence.

PROJECT TIMELINE

The Master Plan includes a phased approach towards transitioning the former petting farm to now support nature and outdoor programming/activities that create a lasting base of environmental literacy, stewardship, and connection to biodiversity and habitat. Phase 1 will help support a variety of new, year-round programs/ activities and evaluate if/how the detailed plans for the Habitat Area may be amended to better support their success.

Phase 1 implementation (highlighted in red in the site plan below) is currently underway with completion anticipated in late spring/early summer 2024, in order to be available for both programming and public use.