By Lloyd Mackey

AN agreement to purchase a new site for the Comox Valley Christian School  (CVCS) will hopefully result in the preservation of two priceless Garry Oak groves which are part of the property.

And the funding for the purchase and development of the property – approximately $6 million – will come from the Gaglardi family, noted for hotel and commercial developments across Canada.

Ken Gaglardi, on the pastoral staff of Northgate Foursquare Church and board chair of CVCS, said there are 175 of the trees on the 26.5 acre property, plus substantial foliage and plant life.

He points out that the groves represent the largest concentration of these trees – which are part of an endangered species that have been native to various parts of Vancouver Island for hundreds of years.

Notes Scott Gaglardi, Northgate senior pastor: “The Garry Oak trees make a wonderful emblem of the school, symbolizing the strength, longevity and individuality of the education [at CVCS].”

And Ken Gaglardi, the school’s chair, points out that, while the purchase agreement is in place, “negotiations are continuing with respect to subdivision approval and zoning for  the new school. We have asked the city to accept that full landscaping on the site may not occur for 30 years.”

Further, “there are environmental considerations and matters covering the water that goes through the land and the habitat.”

Two experts on the preservation of such groves – Marlow Pellatt, coastal ecologist for Parks Canada and David Clements, a biology professor at Trinity Western University – are advising on issues relating to both development and preservation on the site.

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Ken Gaglardi said the company led by his cousin, Bob Gaglardi (son of the late Phil Gaglardi, a famed B.C. highways minister and a Pentecostal pastor) is putting up the $6 million needed for the project. The actual site cost is $1.45 million.

Bob Gaglardi is best known for his leadership in the Sandman Inn hotel group.

The grove and school site are adjacent to Vanier School, on Highway 19.

The school, currently in a building rented from School District 71, has an enrollment of about 125 students. The new facility would hopefully accommodate over 300.

Ken Gaglardi said the aim, with respect to the groves, is to grow them to a total of 300 trees or more and to “recreate the Garry Oak ecosystem with its unique flowers, including the Camas Lily.”

And, he added, it would impact on school curriculum. “The environmental issues will become a strong component of all the science courses, making for an environmentally sensitive and knowledgeable student body.”

He noted, as well, that “it is a wonderful asset that we can leave for the community. The trees, for example, provide beautiful canopies that cover the access roads.

The board chair said he expects universities will send students to study and research the groves, as well.

On April 15, it was reported in the Comox Valley Record that members from the Garry Oak Meadow Preservation Society and the Garry Oak Ecosystem Restoration Society of Victoria recently assessed the health of the groves and determined which plants are growing with them.

Both groups are expected to advise on how to preserve and expand the groves.

June 2010