H I S T O R I C A L L Y
O C E A N S I D E
The Heritage Forest
An Ancient Oceanside Gem
by Dawn Hunter Clark
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tep back in time, meander along paths of shaded beauty and history, in present time. In Qualicum Beach, close to the town centre, is a hidden oasis where you feel far from the rest of the world. That magical place is the Heritage Forest. Located along Crescent Road East, behind the historic Crown Mansion Boutique Hotel, the Heritage Forest is fifty acres of woodland, with Western Red Cedar, Grand Fir, Sitka Spruce, Hemlock and 400-year old Coastal Douglas Fir. The forest is home to a variety of endangered and rare plant species, such as the
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Indian Pipe Monotropa, which is used as a western herbal medicine for ailments like ulcers, epilepsy and helps calm nerves. It also has many animals and birds like deer, the Barred Owl, rabbits, the Pileated Woodpecker and on occasion, otters and cougars! Beach Creek that runs through the forest bears Coho Salmon as well.
The Heritage Forest was known previously, and for a long while, as the Brown Property. R.A. Brown, an oil tycoon from Alberta, and his wife Genevieve bought the property in 1952 from Major Lowry, who lived next door. The forest was their back yard and in the centre of the forest they cleared some trees to construct a barn for their horses and a paddock for them to graze.
It is a place that has existed for thousands of years. A place of beauty and history. It is also the sacred land of the Coastal Salish people. A place that has been important to so many, it is now protected to keep this treasure alive and beautiful.
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A lovely thought it is, of the Brown family strolling from their mansion, through the thick woods, to a clearing where their horses stayed. CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE
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