Swan Lake Christmas Hill Nature Sanctuary will hold a grand opening Friday for the completion of the first phase of construction of the floating boardwalk project.
“All that was existing of the former run-down boardwalk through the north section has been removed and the new fabricated floats are installed. All that remains to see completion of phase one is for the finishing touches to be completed this coming week,” said Kathleen Burton, executive director of Swan Lake Christmas Hill Nature Sanctuary. “We are very pleased to have finished on budget and on time and look forward to welcoming the public across the boardwalk for the first time.”
Steve Chang, campaign chair for the project, said the project would not have been possible without the generous donation of $100,000 from the District of Saanich, $75,000 from the Victoria Natural History Society and the many other donations from individuals.
“These funding sources provided the funding certainty necessary in order for Swan Lake to proceed with phase one of the long-term, two phase boardwalk planning,” said Chang.
The north section of the Swan Lake Christmas Hill Boardwalk was closed throughout the summer as replacement renovations took place on the zig-zag section, through the Willows. The south section of the boardwalk remained open during construction.
“A lot of planning and finessing went into carefully lifting each float and the associated fiberglass decking into place. Replacing the old boardwalk weathered by the forces of nature was no small undertaking,” said Burton.
The grand reopening of the north section of the boardwalk will take place at 2 p.m. Friday. An additional $800,000 in funding is required to complete the second phase of the project.
