A provincial organization that promotes the preservation of B.C. history last week announced a record high of $400,000 for its annual disbursement to heritage projects, with three of those initiatives due to take place on the Sunshine Coast.
The Sunshine Coast Writers and Editors Society will receive funding earmarked for an interactive map and database documenting 100 years of local authors and the written arts.
Two projects by the Gibsons Landing Heritage Society will move ahead with support from Heritage BC: an update to an inventory of Gibsons heritage sites and an accompanying strategic plan, plus a new website and interpretive signage that will bring awareness to history in the Town of Gibsons.
Province-wide, the Heritage Legacy Fund will dedicate funding to 28 projects that include conservation, heritage planning, heritage awareness, and Indigenous partnerships.
“We’ve never applied for anything like this before,” said Diana Robertson, a director of the Gibsons Landing Heritage Society. “So it’s really terrific to get this kind of recognition. It really helps with propelling our new heritage projects forward.”
Heritage BC administers the Heritage Legacy Fund, which was established in 2004 by the Province of B.C. The fund draws on a $5 million endowment held by the Vancouver Foundation.
The grants mark a significant shift for the Gibsons Landing Heritage Society, which since its creation over two decades ago has chiefly been dedicated to preservation of the Heritage Playhouse. Robertson and Fred Inglis recently joined the society’s board and formed a subcommittee dedicated to municipal history. For the last six years, Robertson has also designed heritage exhibits for the annual Sechelt Arts Festival.
The heritage inventory and strategic plan will update a 2006 report that was prepared for Gibsons’s council but never ratified at the time. The report describes two dozen structures — like St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church and Molly’s Reach. It also lists parks, trees and ecologically significant sites. The walnut tree in Molly’s Lane announced for removal earlier this year is among the ecological sites described as historically significant.
“We also want to work with the Squamish Nation more closely,” said Robertson, “on making sure that the cultural aspects of the Squamish Nation in this area are recognized.”
The society’s new website and interpretive signage will provide publicly-accessible listings of heritage sites, which will be supplemented with additional research and interviews.
The project by the Writers and Editors Society was originally announced at an event in February. It will increase public awareness of notable writers who have lived and worked on the Sunshine Coast over the last century, using printed and digital maps.
“The website would include a searchable database of biographical information,” said Cathalynn (Cindy) Labonté-Smith, president of the Writers and Editors Society. A printed self-guided map of literary landmarks will be distributed to visitors. “Our preferred map illustrator will be Jana Curll who creates charming, whimsical maps of the Sunshine Coast,” added Labonté-Smith.
The literary group also anticipates dramatic presentations of significant texts.
A list of Heritage BC-funded projects for 2023 is available online at heritagebc.ca.
