A piece of property that created many happy memories for its past owners has been officially donated to the District of Saanich.

The donation of property adjacent to the Cedar Hill chip trail and King’s Pond came from the estate of Brian Patriquin, who died in 2017 and grew up at 1360 Queensbury Ave. at the corner of Ascot Drive, with his mother, Bertie, and younger brother, Brent.

The parcel, split off from that residential property, contains a seasonal wetland that connects to nearby King’s Pond. The land, originally owned by Patriquin’s maternal grandparents and his mother and later gifted to him, was a “huge influence on his love of animals and the environment,” wrote a family representative regarding the donation.

“The Queensbury home/farm was a place where people in the surrounding area could enjoy the serenity. Brian loved those memories and cherished the gift of owing the property after his grandparents and his mom passed away. His idea from the start was to give the land and pond to Saanich so they can continue to be the great stewards of the property that he was,” the statement read.

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The addition of the 1,940-square-metre parcel, to be known as Jenkins Pond Park to reflect Patriquin’s wish to honour his grandparents, finalizes Saanich’s aspirations to acquire the property for its parks system, which now numbers over 170. The district plans to install a memorial bench in the area to commemorate the gift.

“The addition of park land is one of the ways that we seek to improve the daily lives of the residents of Saanich,” Saanich Mayor Fred Haynes said in a release. “Generous donations, like that of Mr. Patriquin, are just one of the many ways that we actively seek to improve our parks inventory for the future of Saanich.”

For more about the Saanich parks system, visit saanich.ca and click on Parks, Recreation & Community Services.

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