The Loon Foundation is receiving $65,000 in funding through PacifiCan’s Canada Community Revitalization Fund. PacifiCan is the Government of Canada’s new economic development agency dedicated to the growth and diversification of British Columbia’s economy.
This funding will be used to create a “Tranquility Garden” – an accessible open air community space that will facilitate opportunities to gather in a safe outdoor environment and build connections around science, ecology, art, and culture. Located in the heart of Madeira Park, known as salalus, within the swiya of the shíshálh Nation, completion is slated for spring 2023.
The Tranquility Garden will showcase native and medicinal plants, outdoor artworks by local and Indigenous artists, a waterfall, a fire pit, and a stage with a seating area. It will be an ideal location for cultural events like book launches, arts performances, workshops for kids, and community gatherings. It is designed to promote connection with nature and community as well as to draw new visitors to this beautiful, biodiverse area of the province.
Thanks to many community volunteers and several local contractors, development of the Tranquility Garden is already underway and scheduled to be complete by the end of March of this year. The space was originally an unused area overtaken by invasive plants behind the EarthFair Store – a charity-run bookstore that supports the Loon Foundation.
The Loon Foundation is a non-profit organization serving the Sunshine Coast, BC with the mission to ignite connections between people and the natural world, and to foster and encourage responsible stewardship of our natural resources for future generations. The Loon Foundation was founded in 2002 as the Ruby Lake Lagoon Nature Reserve Society. Since then, the scope has expanded to cover the entire Sunshine Coast and in 2020 the name was changed to The Loon Foundation.
