Spring is in the air, the WildWings 2017 nature and arts festival is on the horizon and the Somenos Marsh conservation area is abuzz with activity.
In a project that’ll change the North Cowichan skyline looking east, a viewing platform for the open air classroom along the Trans Canada Highway north of Beverly Street is nearing the construction phase, according to an excited Somenos Marsh Wildlife Society president Paul Fletcher.
Designed by the renowned folks at Macdonald &Lawrence Timber Framing Ltd., the tower will feature a winding staircase and be 12-feet-by-12-feet at the summit.
“It’s going to be pretty exciting for kids and is going to be a great little education thing because you can put an entire classroom on the top of it,” he said.
The project will cost about $60,000 and two-thirds of the funding is already in place.
“We’re probably sitting at $40,000 right now,” Fletcher said. “I feel very positive about a grant that we’ve just applied for. We’re in good shape.”
It’s taken nearly four years to get to this point.
“There’s a lot of steps to go through through the design process and all of that,” he explained. “But it’s going to be pretty. One of the reasons it’s expensive is it’s going to be an architectural delight.”
The platform will be situated closer to the highway because it would be cost prohibitive to build safe supports deeper into the marsh.
“To put a structure of that size with a classroom of kids on the top, those foundations would be too expensive to build,” Fletcher said.
Continuing on the theme of less expensive, much of the open air classroom’s boardwalk decking will be replaced but the Society won’t have to pay for the new composite boards.
“It’s a big project,” Fletcher said. “It was a manufacturers defect so two-thirds of the boards are either showing signs of wear or will show signs of wear.” That’s not supposed to happen.
Fletcher’s crew negotiated with the manufacturer of the faulty decking, which was also facing a class-action suit related to their product.
“They settled with us and provided us with enough materials to replace the entire boardwalk,” he said.
That means the Society has more high quality, composite boards than it actually needs. The plan is to sell them off to raise money to hire professional labour for the replacement project.
Coordinating volunteers for a job of that magnitude would be difficult, Fletcher noted. And the work will be tricky as some of the handrails will require disassembly to get to the decking. It’s not a job for amateurs, no matter how willing.
Folks wishing to get their hands on some TREX composite boards are encouraged to contact the Somenos Marsh Wildlife Society though, through their website (somenosmarsh.com). The boards will be priced much lower than the standard retail rates meaning somebody is going to come out a winner.
