With a visioning process for the Riverview lands underway way, now is the time to visit the iconic 244-acre site, says the organizer of this year's Treefest.
Donna Crosby, a member of the Riverview Horticultural Centre Society, said she hopes for a good turnout to the event on Saturday, Sept. 13 that will feature tours of the historical tree collection, a Blackberry Tea, and historical bus tours led by people who have a long history with the former provincial mental health hospital.
Keep Riverview a mental health site: respondents
Crosby said people who come to the festival between 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. will get a chance to view the site and come to understand why the society wants to keep the property in public hands.
"Our main focus is a refuge for people that are living with mental illness," said Crosby, "and certainly we want to keep the urban green space, the heritage trees and the heritage buildings," she said.
KNOW BEFORE YOU GO
The festival site is located adjacent to the Henry Esson Young Building. Access to the site is via Lougheed Highway from the Colony Farm Road or Orchid Drive entrances, and free parking is available. Look for festival signs and arrows and it is recommended you wear suitable footwear because some areas will have long grass and uneven terrain.
The history bus tours will run six times throughout the day with different leaders, including a brother and sister who lived at Essondale as children, the founder of the Riverview Hospital Historical Society and Riverview Hospital Museum, a horticultural therapist who worked at Riverview, an author and historian and two retired psychiatric nurses. Bus seating is limited and a minimum donation of $2 per ticket will be requested for bus tours.
For more information, visit www.coquitlam.ca/treefest or call 604-927-3583 or 604-290-9910.
