G.E. (Gerry) Wellburn, a collector, was the founder of the Centre which opened in 1965 as the Cowichan Valley Forest Museum. It was later known for a time as the BC Forest Museum.
Collectionedit
There are indoor and outdoor exhibits spread over a 100-acre (40 ha) site, including operating steam and gas rail equipment plus logging trucks. There are forest and nature trails, picnic area, playground, gift shop and a concession. At the Centre visitors can explore a reconstructed logging camp, forest fire lookout tower and the ranger's station.
The centre has its own heritage railway, a train pulled by a century-old steam locomotive which was once used in the filling in of the North Vancouver harbour. Along the route is one of the first pre-fabricated school houses, a trestle over Somenos Lake and an operational water wheel.
The Forest Discovery Centre has seven steam locomotives in its collection:
The site has a reconstructed fire watch tower, which offers a commanding view of the site and nearby Somenos Marsh.
The Centre borders the Somenos Marsh Wildlife Refuge[15] and Ducks Unlimited pond. Many types of water fowl and other birds can be found in this area. Red-Eared Slider turtles can be found sunning in the field next to the marsh.
Two bald eagles have built a nest in the stand of trees west of the North Cowichan Station at the centre's lower grounds. These eagles successfully raised eaglets in 2006 after relocating from a previous nest site along the South Forester's Walk the previous summer. There are currently three eaglets in their nest. The nest is best viewed by standing at the flag pole outside the Wellburn Building at the lower grounds.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to BC Forest Discovery Centre.
January 01, 1970
forest, discovery, centre, 80194, 71528, 80194, 71528, hillcrest, lumber, company, class, shay, locomotiveestablished1964location2892, drinkwater, road, duncan, british, columbiatypeforestry, museumdirectorchris, galecuratorjenna, kiesmanwebsitebcforestdiscove. 48 48 07 N 123 42 55 W 48 80194 N 123 71528 W 48 80194 123 71528 BC Forest Discovery CentreHillcrest Lumber Company 1 a class B Shay locomotiveEstablished1964Location2892 Drinkwater Road 1 Duncan British ColumbiaTypeForestry MuseumDirectorChris GaleCuratorJenna KiesmanWebsitebcforestdiscoverycentre wbr com The BC Forest Discovery Centre located in Duncan chronicles the history of logging in British Columbia Canada It is a 100 acre 40 ha site with 2 5 km 1 6 miles of operational 3 ft 914 mm narrow gauge railway 2 Contents 1 History 2 Collection 3 Site 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksHistory editG E Gerry Wellburn a collector was the founder of the Centre which opened in 1965 as the Cowichan Valley Forest Museum It was later known for a time as the BC Forest Museum Collection editThere are indoor and outdoor exhibits spread over a 100 acre 40 ha site including operating steam and gas rail equipment plus logging trucks There are forest and nature trails picnic area playground gift shop and a concession At the Centre visitors can explore a reconstructed logging camp forest fire lookout tower and the ranger s station The centre has its own heritage railway a train pulled by a century old steam locomotive which was once used in the filling in of the North Vancouver harbour Along the route is one of the first pre fabricated school houses a trestle over Somenos Lake and an operational water wheel The Forest Discovery Centre has seven steam locomotives in its collection Mayo Lumber Company 3 Shay class B was on loan to Kettle Valley Steam Railway 1995 2009 3 4 5 Hillcrest Lumber Company 1 Shay class B 3 ft or 914 mm gauge 6 Bloedel Stewart and Welch Shay class B 1 4 ft 8 1 2 in or 1 435 mm standard gauge 7 Shawnigan Lake Lumber 2 Climax class B 4 ft 8 1 2 in standard gauge 8 Hillcrest Lumber Company 9 Climax class B 4 ft 8 1 2 in standard gauge the only operational Climax locomotive in Canada 9 Cowichan Valley Railway 24 Vulcan 0 4 0T Suzie 3 ft gauge 10 Cowichan Valley Railway 25 Vulcan 0 4 0T Samson 3 ft gauge 11 In addition these diesel locomotives are also part of the collection Cowichan Valley Railway 23 Sandy Plymouth 8 short ton 7 1 long ton 7 3 t 12 Cowichan Valley Railway 27 Handy Andy speeder 13 British Columbia Forest Products 9 Whitcomb Locomotive Works 80 short ton or 71 long ton or 73 tonne 0 4 4 0 diesel 14 Collection nbsp Bloedel Stewart amp Welch 1 Shay nbsp Hillcrest Lumber Company 9 Climax nbsp Cowichan Valley Railway 23 Sandy nbsp Cowichan Valley Railway 25 Samson nbsp HLC 1 Shay over Somenos Lake trestleSite editThe site has a reconstructed fire watch tower which offers a commanding view of the site and nearby Somenos Marsh The Centre borders the Somenos Marsh Wildlife Refuge 15 and Ducks Unlimited pond Many types of water fowl and other birds can be found in this area Red Eared Slider turtles can be found sunning in the field next to the marsh Two bald eagles have built a nest in the stand of trees west of the North Cowichan Station at the centre s lower grounds These eagles successfully raised eaglets in 2006 after relocating from a previous nest site along the South Forester s Walk the previous summer There are currently three eaglets in their nest The nest is best viewed by standing at the flag pole outside the Wellburn Building at the lower grounds See also edit nbsp Trains portal nbsp Canada portal List of heritage railways in Canada List of museums in CanadaReferences edit Contact Us BC FOREST DISCOVERY CENTRE Archived from the original on 25 August 2010 Retrieved 23 September 2010 Steamlocomotive info Mayo Lumber Company Shay No 3 BC FOREST DISCOVERY CENTRE www discoveryforest com Archived from the original on 10 July 2011 Mayo Lumber Company Shay No 3 BC FOREST DISCOVERY CENTRE www discoveryforest com Archived from the original on 10 July 2011 Shaw Communications Hillcrest Lumber Company No 1 BC FOREST DISCOVERY CENTRE www discoveryforest com Archived from the original on 10 July 2011 Bloedel Stewart amp Welch No 1 BC FOREST DISCOVERY CENTRE www discoveryforest com Archived from the original on 10 July 2011 Shawnigan Lake Lumber Company No 2 BC FOREST DISCOVERY CENTRE www discoveryforest com Archived from the original on 10 July 2011 Hillcrest Lumber Company No 9 BC FOREST DISCOVERY CENTRE www discoveryforest com Archived from the original on 10 July 2011 Cowichan Valley Railway No 24 Susie BC FOREST DISCOVERY CENTRE www discoveryforest com Archived from the original on 10 July 2011 Cowichan Valley Railway Locomotive No 25 Sampson BC FOREST DISCOVERY CENTRE www discoveryforest com Archived from the original on 10 July 2011 Cowichan Valley Railway Locomotive No 23 Sandy BC FOREST DISCOVERY CENTRE www discoveryforest com Archived from the original on 10 July 2011 Westminster Iron Works BC FOREST DISCOVERY CENTRE www discoveryforest com Archived from the original on 22 May 2011 Whitcomb Locomotive BCForestDiscoveryCentre com Somenos Marsh Wildlife Society websiteExternal links editOfficial website Centre s website on Cowichan Forestry Life Vancouver Island attractions nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to BC Forest Discovery Centre Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title BC Forest Discovery Centre amp oldid 1168926934, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
