Special Places
The slogan we adopted for the National Trust organization here in British Columbia is: “Special Places. Forever, for Everyone.” It signifies that our work to protect our natural and cultural heritage focuses on unique areas that our communities consider to be special and worthy of protection, and that protection is intended to be permanent and done for the benefit of the public as a whole, not just for special or private interests. We deliberately left the definition of special places vague, recognizing that the idea of what constitutes a special place is subjective and would better be defined by the individuals and the community that cared about it. In various forms, this concept of “Special Places” is used by the National Trust movement around the world.
We all have special places in our lives. Often they are parks or places that have been protected in some way for the special values they hold. Sometimes they are, simply, places that hold special memories for us personally, or are favourite places that the people in a community like to use. Sometimes they are symbolic and represent values and activities that we hold dear and want to preserve. Here are a few places I’ve visited that have had a lasting impression on me. Fortunately, they are all parks and are (at least at the moment) well protected and well-cared for. There are many others – some at significant risk of being lost – that I will add as I accumulate the photographs. I hope you’ll find, as I did, something special in each of these places.
Galleries…