A Walk in Champlain Heights Park

I went for beautiful walk recently in Champlain Heights Park, located beside the Champlain Heights Community Centre. The first thing I noticed was the brilliant yellow blossoms of a hazel tree. Near by, as my son climbed up onto a massive douglas fir tree, we discovered a little hazelnut tucked into the folds of the bark. A squirrel must have hid the nut for a winter snack. Walking through the trails, deeper into the park, we discovered an oasis of native plants – the forest floor was covered with salal, oregon grape, and sword fern. We heard a rustling in the trees above and soon found ourselves showered by bits of douglas fir cones – it was a douglas squirrel tearing apart a cone to get at the seeds within. Seeing a wonderful thriving douglas fir forest, I was ever more inspired to remove the invasives along the Champlain Heights Trails and replant the native plants as they once were.