Post-Impressionist artist Emily Carr was born in Victoria, BC in 1871. At that time the early settlement was a few thousand souls surrounded by towering ancient trees. As can be seen in her art, they had a huge impact on her.
Among The Firs
Carr was fascinated with the coastal forest, and its original inhabitants. She spent much of her life in First Nations villages, and enjoyed the dark haunting forests, wild beaches and vast skies of Vancouver Island.
Odds and Ends
She enjoyed her adventures, and considered herself to be "the little old lady on the edge of nowhere" since many of her locations were, and still are, in isolated locations. Amazing artworks resulted from her repeated forest forays.
Painters and Painting
As Carr aged her focus changed from aboriginal themes toward landscapes, particularly forest scenes. Such scenes depict, probably better than any other artist, the grandeur, magic, and spirit of the coastal forest.
Tree In Autumn
Of her work, Carr said, "I glory in our wonderful west and I hope to leave behind me some of the relics of its first primitive greatness. Only a few more years and they will be gone forever into silent nothingness and I would gather my collection together before they are forever past."
Emily Carr's words were prophetic, and her beloved and much-exploited forest is indeed fading into 'silent nothingness'. But small bits of the original forest hang on. The Mary Lake property is one such bit.
Carr is said to have frequented a cabin deep in the cool, ancient Douglas-fir forest next to Mary Lake, a short horse ride from her birthplace in Victoria. Here she found the solace and sanctuary required for her art.
This beautiful small lake, surrounded by 107 acres of forest, is currently slated for development, threatening the magic that provides inspiration for the artist within us all to this day.
Find out more about the Save Mary Lake Campaign by clicking on the image on the right.
We could consider saving Mary Lake as a gift to Emily Carr for sharing with us the special way she saw the trees and the forest. She knew how important they are to everything.
Riparian habitat in the Mary Lake forest, photo: Savemarylake
Bob McMinn, one time mayor of the Highlands District outside of Victoria, BC, knew he was taking on a huge challenge when he launched the Save Mary Lake Campaign back in October of 2010. At stake - 107 acres of a globally significant, endangered wild forest slated to be sold for upscale housing estates. But Bob is a determined, tech savy elder that is willing to go the extra mile to save a special place he knows and loves.
$4.5 million dollars needs to be raised, including $1 million of it by a February 1, 2011 deadline. As of January 19th $199,000 had been raised with the deadline looming. Please consider helping Bob save the Highland's Mary Lake forest... soon!
Only 6% of the tiny Coastal Douglas-fir Eco-zone is protected.
Even the BC government should agree that Bob's quest is a good one. A brochure they published states that:
"though it is one of the smallest of British Columbia’s 14 ecological zones, the Coastal Douglas-fir Zone is home to some of the province’s most interesting and diverse ecosystems. A mild climate has also given this area some of the province’s rarest vegetation, which is seriously threatened by growing human settlement".
Although the government should step in and provide funding for preserving what it says is endangered forest, we can not count on them. It is up to the people.
Of course, contacting Pat Bell, Minister of Forest, Mines, and Lands can't hurt either. Find his contact information here. Tell him you would like Mary Lake and other old growth remnants in the devastated CDF eco-zone protected before they are all converted into mansionettes on mini-estates.
It is not often that people have a chance to help preserve a bit of the original Coastal Douglas Fir (CDF) ecosystem here on Vancouver Island. Mary Lake, in the rural and rugged Highlands district outside of Victoria, B.C., presents such an opportunity.
A group dedicated to preserving Mary Lake, and the surrounding 107 acres of undeveloped forest, are attempting to raise the money to purchase it. See more here, and consider lending them a hand in reaching their worthy goal of saving some of this beleaguered ecosystem.
The CDF ecosystem is tiny, the smallest eco-zone in B.C., yet it holds a greater variety of plant and animal life than any other ecosystem in the province. The zone is restricted to a small strip of southeast Vancouver Island, as well as parts of the Gulf Islands and bits along the coast on the mainland. On the island, this vanishing ecosystem runs through the rainshadow created by the Vancouver Island and Olympic ranges.
This dry strip along the east coastal plain, until fairly recently, contained some of the biggest trees in the world. The size and scope of the original forest was an irresistible economic gold mine to early European settlers. Today 99% of one of the world's most productive and massive forests is gone.
Even the 1% that remains is being exploited before it too disappears. Only about 5% of the CDF zone is protected in parks - the B.C. government's goals is 12%.
The government has known for a long time that the CDF forest is in peril. In 1999 the B.C. Ministry of Environment stated in its Ecosystem at Risk brochure that "nearly every type of old growth Douglas-fir forest on British Columbia's dry coastal plain is now rare or endangered".
Knowing this, the government gave the go-ahead earlier this year for logging to commence on District Lot 33 in Nanoose Bay. Lot 33, a 64 hectare plot in the CDF zone, contains huge old growth Douglas-fir and Western red-cedar. It has never been inventoried for its biological wealth, and is prime habitat for the Marbled murrelet and Spotted owl.
Industrial use, logging, and increasingly, residential development, threaten the dry coastal plain that lies next to Georgia Straight.
Indeed, it is residential development that threatens the Mary Lake forest in Highlands. But we currently have the opportunity to save this 107 acres of endangered forest. Please consider donating, and/or volunteering. Also, consider writing to our elected officials to tell them that you do not want to see Vancouver Island's CDF forest go extinct on their watch.
Where is Mary Lake?
Mary Lake is in the district of Highlands off Millstream Road, a 20 minute drive northwest of Victoria, B.C. The land is currently private, and having not visited yet, I can not say what access is like. However, I did see somewhere online that said that there are area trails that locals have been using over the years. As always, be respectful when visiting the big trees.
