Campbell Valley Regional Park
After a busy weekend, it’s nice to wind down with a leisurely stroll. For this, Campbell Valley Regional Park seemed ideal. The park is well maintained and I was surprised to see a large, clear map on the noticeboard, as well as informative brochures with a copy of the trail map. It was also equipped with several washrooms with running water, as well as a group picnic shelter with barbecue facilities. Of the trails available, we opted for the Little River Loop.
The Little River Loop has raised boardwalks and crosses the Campbell River twice, offering ample opportunity to keep an eye out for wildlife, such as squirrels, various species of bird and even a snake!
The first thing that struck us as strange about the wildlife was how brazen the little creatures were, as the squirrels leapt right onto our path and hopped confidently towards us. We soon uncovered the reason behind this, as we noticed bold signage requesting park visitors not to feed the local wildlife. Despite the posted signage, both at the entrance of the park, throughout the trail and in the brochures we had collected, it seemed there was a culture of feeding the birds and squirrels, sometimes out of the palm of one’s hand. We noticed teenagers tossing food into the pond for the ducks to nibble eat, multiple families armed with bags of sunflower seeds which they left on tree stumps and along the trail. We were appalled at the apparent normalcy of it all – parks such as these are designed to preserve natural wildlife, not provide humans with an opportunity to interfere with it. Feeding these creatures often cause habituation and conflict problems. There were so many incidents of wildlife feeding that I looked up the reviews of the park and noticed several comments from park visitors actually encouraging the practice!
Despite disagreeing with the behaviour of our fellow trail-users, we enjoyed the rich biodiversity of the park and took several photos of its inhabitants, including a video of a bold squirrel munching contentedly on his seeds. Arum lilies and touch-me-nots shone in the afternoon sun, while trees bearing new leaves formed a dense canopy over the trail. It was a pleasant walk on a beautiful Spring day, and I look forward to returning in the summer.
