Central Park is a urban park in
Burnaby
Burnaby is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Located in the centre of the Burrard Peninsula, it neighbours the City of Vancouver to the west, the District of North Vancouver across the confluence of the Burrard I ...
,
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
, founded in 1891.
The park is on the
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
–
Burnaby
Burnaby is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Located in the centre of the Burrard Peninsula, it neighbours the City of Vancouver to the west, the District of North Vancouver across the confluence of the Burrard I ...
border, just west of the
Metropolis at Metrotown
Metropolis at Metrotown (commonly referred to as Metrotown) is a three-storey shopping mall complex in the Metrotown area of Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. Opened in 1986, it is the largest mall in British Columbia and the third-largest ...
shopping complex, and is bounded by Boundary Road on the west, Kingsway on the north, Patterson and Willingdon Avenues on the east, and Imperial Road on the south. The nearest
SkyTrain station,
Patterson station, named for Burnaby pioneer
Dugald Campbell Patterson, is at the park's northeast corner. The main entrance to Central Park is off
Kingsway near Patterson Avenue.
Central Park was once a naval reserve set aside as a source of masts and spars for ships of the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
. The park was named to honour Mrs.
Sarah (Christine) Oppenheimer, the wife of Vancouver's second mayor, who was born in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
.
Central Park's primary attraction is the large proportion of its land reserved as a well-preserved temperate rainforest ecosystem, with numerous walking trails. Among its other attractions are the award-winning children's playground, pitch and putt golf, an outdoor swimming facility, a lawn bowling facility, several picnic areas, tennis courts, and a couple of small duck ponds. Wildlife in the park includes
grey squirrels Gray squirrel or grey squirrel may refer to several species of squirrel indigenous to North America:
*The eastern gray squirrel (''Sciurus carolinensis''), from the eastern United States and southeastern Canada; introduced into the United Kingdom, I ...
and
coyotes.
A fitness circuit was installed during the time period between 2012 and 2014 in the park replacing the old wooden exercise apparatus to metal and rubber ones. These apparatus are situated throughout the park and include an
exercise bike, pull-up bars, and weights. The 12 stations are designed to improve strength, cardiovascular health, balance, and flexibility. A total of of rubber was used in the manufacturing of the apparatus. The creation of the circuit was sponsored by
Tire Stewardship BC and
Kal Tire.
The
Korean War Memorial is in the west side of the park, close to Boundary Road.
Swangard Stadium, another Burnaby landmark and a former home for the
Vancouver Whitecaps
Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Vancouver. They compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The MLS iteration of the club was established on Mar ...
soccer team, is located at the northwest corner of Central Park.
Attractions
Trails and hiking
The City of Burnaby recommends several circuitous routes. The
Terry Fox
Terrance Stanley Fox (July 28, 1958 June 28, 1981) was a Canadian athlete, humanitarian, and cancer research activist. In 1980, with one leg having been amputated due to cancer, he embarked on an east-to-west cross-Canada run to raise money ...
Trail circles around the upper pond and just reaches the lower pond. Visitors often use this trail for physical activity purposes and is annually used for the Terry Fox Run for the City of Burnaby. The Trail of Hope also circles around the upper pond and reaches the lower pond while a 1.9 kilometer trail circles a portion of the parkland.
Swangard stadium
![Swangard stadium Burnaby](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ed/Swangard_stadium_Burnaby.jpg)
Swangard Stadium, former home of the
Vancouver Whitecaps
Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer team based in Vancouver. They compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The MLS iteration of the club was established on Mar ...
, and erected in 1961, is located at the north-west corner of the park. It regularly holds
soccer and
rugby
Rugby may refer to:
Sport
* Rugby football in many forms:
** Rugby league: 13 players per side
*** Masters Rugby League
*** Mod league
*** Rugby league nines
*** Rugby league sevens
*** Touch (sport)
*** Wheelchair rugby league
** Rugby union: 1 ...
games, alternative sporting events,
concerts
A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variet ...
, and a variety of community events. The stadium is available for rental.
Facilities
The outdoor pool is on the west side of the park, and the fitness circuit and tennis courts are located to the south east side. The baseball diamond and lawn bowling facility sit on the north-east side, while the pitch and putt and golf course are sits on the south-east side. The horseshoe pitch, playground, and bowling green are on the north-east side of the park.
On the west side of the park there is an expansive picnic area.
The Earl and Jennie Lohn Perennial Garden, located on the north-east side of the park, is popular location of
botanical
Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...
interest. The Variety Park playground is a popular destination for families.
Ecology
Central park's large wooded areas are
temperate rainforest
Temperate rainforests are coniferous or broadleaf forests that occur in the temperate zone and receive heavy rain.
Temperate rain forests occur in oceanic moist regions around the world: the Pacific temperate rain forests of North American ...
, a remnant of Vancouver's original forest
ecosystem
An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...
.
The park was
logged in the 1890s, and huge stumps can still be seen. Notches in these stumps mark them as harvested by springboard
logging techniques.
Seedling
A seedling is a young sporophyte developing out of a plant embryo from a seed. Seedling development starts with germination of the seed. A typical young seedling consists of three main parts: the radicle (embryonic root), the hypocotyl (embryo ...
s can be seen growing from these
stumps. As these stumps
decay
Decay may refer to:
Science and technology
* Bit decay, in computing
* Software decay, in computing
* Distance decay, in geography
* Decay time (fall time), in electronics
Biology
* Decomposition of organic matter
* Tooth decay (dental caries ...
they provide
habitat
In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...
and
nutrients
A nutrient is a substance used by an organism to survive, grow, and reproduce. The requirement for dietary nutrient intake applies to animals, plants, fungi, and protists. Nutrients can be incorporated into cells for metabolic purposes or excre ...
for the young plants, while protecting them from the acidic conditions on the
forest floor
The forest floor, also called detritus, duff and the O horizon, is one of the most distinctive features of a forest ecosystem. It mainly consists of shed vegetative parts, such as leaves, branches, bark, and stems, existing in various stages ...
.
The park has two man-made lakes and a stream. Many
phytoplankton and
zooplankton
Zooplankton are the animal component of the planktonic community ("zoo" comes from the Greek word for ''animal''). Plankton are aquatic organisms that are unable to swim effectively against currents, and consequently drift or are carried along by ...
live in these lakes, including ''
Daphnia
''Daphnia'' is a genus of small planktonic crustaceans, in length. ''Daphnia'' are members of the order Anomopoda, and are one of the several small aquatic crustaceans commonly called water fleas because their saltatory swimming style resembl ...
'' and ''
Cyclops'' species.
Animal life
![Burnaby Central Park (32498017352)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Burnaby_Central_Park_%2832498017352%29.jpg)
A variety of birds live in the park, attracted by the habitat and berry-producing shrubs. These include
downy woodpeckers,
towhees,
American robins,
sparrows,
finches
The true finches are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Fringillidae. Finches have stout conical bills adapted for eating seeds and nuts and often have colourful plumage. They occupy a great range of habitats where they are usua ...
and
crows
The Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station (CROWS) is a series of remote weapon stations used by the US military on its armored vehicles and ships. It allows weapon operators to engage targets without leaving the protection of their vehicle. ...
. The park is home to
Douglas squirrel
The Douglas squirrel (''Tamiasciurus douglasii'') is a pine squirrel found in the Pacific Northwest of North America, including the northwestern coastal states of the United States as well as the southwestern coast of British Columbia in Canada, ...
s and
northern coyotes.
Both lakes provide habitat for
Canada geese
The Canada goose (''Branta canadensis''), or Canadian goose, is a large wild goose with a black head and neck, white cheeks, white under its chin, and a brown body. It is native to the arctic and temperate regions of North America, and it is o ...
,
mallards
The mallard () or wild duck (''Anas platyrhynchos'') is a dabbling duck that breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Eurasia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, Argen ...
, and other waterfowl. The upper lake is home to
crawfish and
minnows
Minnow is the common name for a number of species of small freshwater fish, belonging to several genera of the families Cyprinidae and Leuciscidae. They are also known in Ireland as pinkeens.
Smaller fish in the subfamily Leusciscidae are ...
. The lower lake has schools of
brown bullhead
The brown bullhead (''Ameiurus nebulosus'') is a fish of the family Ictaluridae that is widely distributed in North America. It is a species of bullhead catfish and is similar to the black bullhead (''Ameiurus melas'') and yellow bullhead (''Am ...
, a fish in the
catfish order, which can sometimes be viewed from the bridge by the golf shop.
Invasive animal species
Invasive species in Central Park tend to be larger, more hardy and more aggressive in general than
native species
In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often popularised as "with no human intervention") during history. The term is equ ...
. On top of that, most of these invasive species do not have predators to keep their population down, which gives these species higher
fitness than native species. Some common invasive animals include
Eastern gray squirrel
The eastern gray squirrel (''Sciurus carolinensis''), also known, particularly outside of North America, as simply the grey squirrel, is a tree squirrel in the genus ''Sciurus''. It is native to eastern North America, where it is the most prodi ...
,
American bull frog
The American bullfrog (''Lithobates catesbeianus''), often simply known as the bullfrog in Canada and the United States, is a large true frog native to eastern North America. It typically inhabits large permanent water bodies such as swamps, ...
,
European chafer beetle and
European fire ants.
In early 2012 a
blotched snakehead was seen in
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
videos of Central Park's lagoon. Because of the invasive and aggressive nature of the snakehead, scientists were called in, the lagoon was drained, and the fish was captured. There is no evidence it reproduced or spread its range, and so the snakehead had not spread to British Columbia.
File:Squirrel in Central Park.JPG, alt=An invasive eastern gray squirrel in Burnaby's Central Park., An invasive Eastern gray squirrel
The eastern gray squirrel (''Sciurus carolinensis''), also known, particularly outside of North America, as simply the grey squirrel, is a tree squirrel in the genus ''Sciurus''. It is native to eastern North America, where it is the most prodi ...
in Burnaby's Central Park.
File:Northern snakehead fish in hands.jpg, alt=Northern snakehead fish in hands., An invasive snakehead fish
Plant life
This
second growth forest
A secondary forest (or second-growth forest) is a forest or woodland area which has re-grown after a timber harvest or clearing for agriculture, until a long enough period has passed so that the effects of the disturbance are no longer evident. I ...
is dominated by
Douglas fir,
western hemlock
''Tsuga heterophylla'', the western hemlock or western hemlock-spruce, is a species of hemlock native to the west coast of North America, with its northwestern limit on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska, and its southeastern limit in northern Sonoma ...
, and
western red cedar
''Thuja plicata'' is an evergreen coniferous tree in the cypress family Cupressaceae, native to western North America. Its common name is western redcedar (western red cedar in the UK), and it is also called Pacific redcedar, giant arborvitae ...
.
Vine maple,
spruce,
birch
A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains ...
and
elderberry
''Sambucus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Adoxaceae. The various species are commonly called elder or elderberry. The genus was formerly placed in the honeysuckle family, Caprifoliaceae, but was reclassified as Adoxaceae due to ge ...
are present, and each have a significant share of the tree
overstory
In biology, the canopy is the aboveground portion of a plant cropping or crop, formed by the collection of individual plant crowns.
In forest ecology, canopy also refers to the upper layer or habitat zone, formed by mature tree crowns an ...
.
Salmonberry
''Rubus spectabilis'', the salmonberry, is a species of bramble in the rose family Rosaceae, native to the west coast of North America from west-central Alaska to California, inland as far as Idaho. Like many other species in the genus ''Rubus'' ...
,
thimbleberry
''Rubus parviflorus'', commonly called thimbleberry, (also known as redcaps) is a species of ''Rubus'' native to northern temperate regions of North America. The plant has large hairy leaves and no thorns. It bears edible red fruit similar in ...
,
huckleberry
Huckleberry is a name used in North America for several plants in the family Ericaceae, in two closely related genera: ''Vaccinium'' and '' Gaylussacia''. The huckleberry is the state fruit of Idaho.
Nomenclature
The name 'huckleberry' is a No ...
and
trailing blackberry provide edible fruit for humans and animals, and together with
hollyhock
''Alcea'' is a genus of over 80 species of flowering plants in the mallow family Malvaceae, commonly known as the hollyhocks. They are native to Asia and Europe. The single species of hollyhock from the Americas, the streambank wild hollyhock, ...
make up the shrub understory.
Sword and
bracken ferns are also abundant. The native vine
orange
honeysuckle can be found growing up tree trunks near Swangard Stadium.
Invasive plant species
Burnaby Central Park has a few invasive plant species that the city is working to remove. These plans were implemented in 2011 along the 2.5 kilometer trail as known as Trail of Hope and is primarily run by volunteers even to this day. Some of these invasive plant species that populate Central Park are
English holly
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
,
English ivy
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national id ...
,
Butterfly-bush,
Japanese knotweed
''Reynoutria japonica'', synonyms ''Fallopia japonica'' and ''Polygonum cuspidatum'', is a species of herbaceous perennial plant in the knotweed and buckwheat family Polygonaceae. Common names include Japanese knotweed and Asian knotweed. It is ...
,
Policeman's helmet, and
Periwinkle.
Community organizations are part of an ongoing effort to reduce and eliminate invasive plant species. The Invasive Species Counsel of British Columbia has non-profit status, and spreads public awareness in addition to dealing with invasive plants directly.
See also
*
Death of Marrisa Shen
References
{{coord, 49.227071, N, 123.018208, W, display=title
Parks in Burnaby