Nearly six acres of ecologically significant land beside Kitty Coleman Beach Park are now permanently protected.
Made possible through the generosity of the landowners—including a significant donation through Canada's Ecological Gifts Program—and a $50,000 contribution from the Comox Valley Land Trust, the acquisition protects Kitty Coleman Creek, an important salmon-bearing stream within the Coastal Western Hemlock ecosystem.
The land also provides habitat for species at risk, including great blue herons and the Kennicotti subspecies of western screech owl. By expanding the protected landscape beside the park, the acquisition strengthens ecological connectivity along this coastal corridor.
For the family who cared for this land for more than 20 years, protecting it was deeply personal. They generously donated a significant portion of the property's value to help ensure it could be protected forever.
"We wanted to make sure this piece of land was preserved as an ecologically sensitive area because it's an animal corridor," says former landowner Cindy. "This land has always belonged to the animals. We wanted to make sure it stayed that way."
Over the years, Cindy's family shared the property with bears, raccoons, ravens, river otters, and countless other wild neighbours. They watched salmon return to Kitty Coleman Creek each year and gradually came to think of the orchard they grew on their land as belonging to the wildlife as much as to themselves.
"We formed such a bond," she says. "We can go to the store and buy plums or blueberries, and they can't. We love sharing this place and everything it produces with them. "
The property is also home to the largest recorded tree stump in the Comox Valley, which serves as a reminder of the ancient forest that once covered this landscape. After the giant tree fell naturally more than a century ago, it became a nurse log, nourishing new life as it returned to the forest floor.
"Every protected place strengthens the larger landscape," says Andy Day, CEO of BC Parks Foundation. "By protecting Kitty Coleman Creek, we've safeguarded an important wildlife corridor where salmon can continue to spawn, species at risk can thrive, and this remarkable ecosystem can remain connected for generations to come. We're deeply grateful to the landowners, the Comox Valley Land Trust, and everyone who helped make this possible."
Together, the landowners, the Comox Valley Land Trust and people across British Columbia have ensured Kitty Coleman Creek—and the wildlife that depend on it—will remain protected forever.
