A History of Habitat Restoration at Henderson Park
2004: Henderson Hill logged along with the other properties in the Beechwood Drive property subdivision.
2006: Henderson Hill Park designated as a Community Park. Community Parks are managed by the local volunteer run Mayne Island Parks and Recreation Commission.
2006: Habitat restoration activities begin, primarily Scotch broom removal.
2007 – 2008: Surveys are completed for vascular plants, Species at Risk, fauna, and invertebrates. Culminating in a Restoration Plan for the park.
2010: Students from the Mayne Island School use the park as a learning site and plant native trees.
2012: An interpretive nature trail and kiosk with map are completed, 500 trees are planted in areas of slow recovery including Douglas fir, western red cedar, arbutus, and Garry oak.
2013: Another 290 trees are planted.
2017: An updated Habitat Restoration Plan is completed which summarizes the restoration work completed between 2011 and 2017, and makes recommendations on future restoration work until 2026. Another 75 tree are planted.
2017: Collaboration with neighbouring property owners on Beechwood Drive extends the habitat restoration project to include a larger area.
2018: A deer fence was constructed around a one acre area in the southwest of the park and adjacent private property. This site was chosen because native vegetation was not recovering due to intense deer browse, despite past efforts to plant and protect individual trees. Following the fence construction, 317 trees and shrubs were planted by community volunteers, Conservancy staff, and the students at the Mayne School.
Present and Future
Henderson Community Park continues to be a focus of long-term habitat restoration actions led by the MI Conservancy, in partnership with the MI Parks and Recreation Commission. Over time the resources needed for restoration will greatly decrease as the forest canopy is reestablished, and habitat for sun-loving invasive plants decreases.
A well-used public trail system is maintained by the MI Parks and Recreation Commission, providing a valuable addition to recreation opportunities on Mayne Island, and the MI School students continue to use the park as an outdoor learning site. If you haven’t had a chance to explore the park yet, we recommend you make it your next hiking destination. It contains a great diversity of environments and opportunities for wildlife viewing. From watching the Turkey Vultures soar above the dry rocky cliffs of Vulture Ridge (March – Sept), to looking for the endangered Northern Red-legged Frogs in the pond along the Doreen McLeod Trail.
In addition to community volunteers, this project has been supported financially by the following organizations over the years. We would like to thank them for their support in helping restore Henderson Park!
3 Comments
Yolanda knapp · June 11, 2022 at 12:44 pm
Please provide the interpretative map on your website. The numbers are on the information board, but no information as to what the numbers mean or what the park is try to tell us. As it is a pretty trail, it’s not a total wast of time. Also, please put the trail information online. As in easy, medium, and difficult.
Rob Underhill · June 14, 2022 at 9:37 am
Hi Yolanda. There are normally reusable trail guides that provide the information associated with the numbered locations along the trail. We will get to filling the box back up. We are almost out of these expensive reusable guides so hopefully the remaining few last a long time.
Jan LT · July 22, 2022 at 7:59 pm
Incredible work on restoring Henderson Park. I was almost moved to tears to see how much the trees have grown and to read about all the work you did to return nature to this area. You should be very proud of your work here! Thank you 🙏