The Capital Regional District is adding 20 acres of land worth nearly $4 million on Galiano and Mayne islands for parks and recreational use after donations from their owners’ estates.
On Galiano Island, two parcels at the western entrance of Active Pass were given to the Galiano Parks and Recreation Commission, a volunteer-run CRD community parks service, by Elizabeth (Betty) Kennedy, who died in 2019 at age 96.
The 11.21 acres includes 721 feet of high-bank waterfront. The donation had included life estates for Kennedy and a beneficiary, Paul Longridge, who recently permitted his interest in the life-estate to expire, allowing the commission to acquire full control of the property and begin preparing it for park use.
The 2022 assessed value of the property is $2.313 million.
Kennedy also provided a $300,000 trust fund for the management of the community park.
Kennedy was a math teacher who started her career at Victoria College, which become the University of Victoria in 1963. At UVic, she was instrumental in the founding of the schools of nursing, social work, and health and information science.
She and husband, Gilbert, a former deputy attorney general in W.A.C. Bennett’s government, set up funding for entrance scholarships in the faculties of engineering, law, mathematics and music.
The couple bought the property in 1962.
On Mayne Island, at the other end of Active Pass, the estate of Fred and Bette Cotton donated a parcel of land to the Mayne Island Parks and Recreation Commission, another volunteer-run CRD service. The couple were residents of Vancouver and Mayne Island.
The property at 207 Cotton Rd. is across from Sturdies Bay on Galiano Island, with expansive views of the Salish Sea. The eight-acre parcel has 1,150 feet of low-bank waterfront along Active Pass. The 2022 assessed value is $1.62 million.
The trustee for the Cottons’ estate provided an additional $50,000 to the community parks service that was used to convert the property from residential to park use.
“We are so thankful for these generous donations, which will enhance our communities for years to come,” said Paul Brent, electoral area director for Southern Gulf Islands. “Our community parks provide recreational opportunities and help preserve natural areas. Donations like these are one of the ways we are able to expand our parks system.”
The CRD said the properties will complement federal, provincial and regional parks nearby. The land will be community park land, and facilities on the land will be made available for public use.
The CRD manages more than 13,300 hectares of natural areas in 33 regional parks and four regional trails on southern Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands.
