Trees at Central Park

The Crystal Pool redevelopment project isn’t just about access to swimming – the project will have major impacts on North Park’s only significant park, and the mature trees that create a community oasis in the summer.

North Park has some of the lowest greenspace per capita in the city, and with increasing heat events, like the 2021 Heat Dome where 619 people died in British Columbia, access to cool outdoor space is a critical health issue, and an issue of social and environmental justice.

Site selection matters

The Crystal Pool referendum will ask you to vote for a location: North Central Park or South Central Park. Voting day is February 8, and site selection matters:

✔️ Central Park North

  • Environmental impact: 14–28 trees will be removed: a potential loss of up to 24% of the park’s trees. Greater protection of trees and less biodiversity disruption compared to the South option
  • Impact to recreation: The park, including the playgrounds, sports courts, and fitness equipment, will stay open during construction.

❌ Central Park South

  • Environmental impact: 29–52 trees, including three Garry Oaks, will be removed. This is a potential loss of over half (52%) of the trees. Significant loss of green space and biodiversity, increased urban warming, lower air quality, and no access in the neighbourhood to shaded green space until the project is complete (up to 8 years).
  • Impact to recreation: All park amenities, including playgrounds, sports courts, and fitness equipment, will be closed.

Please see the City of Victoria’s arborist report for more details on tree loss.

Environmental inequities in urban neighbourhoods

As climate change brings hotter summers and heavier rain, urban green spaces like Central Park play a crucial role in livability. They clean the air, slow rainwater during winter storms, and help manage extreme temperatures. However, not every neighbourhood benefits equally, and these inequities matter more than ever as the climate grows increasingly volatile. Higher density smaller spaces
Numerous Canadian studies confirm that predominantly white, higher-income communities typically enjoy greater access to parks, tree cover, and cleaner air.

Meanwhile, neighbourhoods with lower incomes and more racialized populations often have fewer green spaces and face higher pollution — a form of environmental racism. This is the case in North Park, a very diverse, low-income neighbourhood where access to trees and greenspace is extremely limited.

Engaging communities in decision-making

Equitable distribution isn’t the only goal — who makes decisions about park development is just as important. Too often, only the loudest or most privileged voices influence outcomes. A just approach means including a wide range of perspectives in the planning process, from youth leaders to people with lived experiences of environmental challenges. In the case of the Crystal Pool project, just and equitable engagement did not take place. Environmental equity hasn’t been a low priority in the Crystal Pool replacement project – it hasn’t been considered at all.

Why the location matters

The location of the new facility will be in one of two sites: Central Park North or Central Park South. Both will change Central Park, but one choice — the North option — protects valuable green space, maintains a precious urban forest, and respects residents need for climate relief and recreation.

If selected, the South option will have grave impacts on the park, the people who recreate there, and the community’s access to shade, trees, and greenspace.

North Park is an urban heat island, which means it experiences higher temperatures due to fewer trees and green spaces. The park’s mature trees — and the neighbourhood’s only stand of mature Garry Oaks — play a huge role in reducing heat, improving air quality, and giving seniors, families, and people living in apartments the access to nature that every human deserves to have. Choosing where to place the new pool directly affects how many of these trees are removed and how much cooling canopy the neighborhood retains.

Central Park North

The North option minimizes tree removal and preserves critical green space. Fewer trees would need to be removed, and no Garry Oaks would be lost. Preserving these mature trees is essential for keeping temperatures down in North Park, providing habitat for birds, and maintaining the park’s natural beauty.

Central Park South

In contrast, the south option would remove significantly more trees, with some estimates indicating the loss of over half the trees in the park, with the potential loss of three Garry Oaks. Because North Park already has fewer green and shaded areas than other parts of the city, losing these crucial trees would worsen the heat island effect and reduce the park’s ability to serve as a comfortable retreat for residents.
How you can help protect trees & access to greenspace

By choosing the north option for the Crystal Pool project, we protect these vital trees and green spaces. We need community support to urge local decision-makers to prioritize the well-being of North Park residents, preserve our urban canopy, and ensure we have a cooler, healthier neighborhood for years to come.

Looking ahead in North Park: How you can help

For North Park, building a fair and climate-resilient future means prioritizing investments where they are needed most, listening to underrepresented voices, and measuring progress over time. With thoughtful policies and genuine community engagement, urban green spaces can become shared assets — cooling the summer heat, improving air quality, and strengthening the neighbourhood’s sense of belonging. If the South option is chosen for the Crystal Pool, North Park will be set back in irreparable ways. A generation of kids will grow up without adequate access to trees, shade, or recreation.

Voting day is February 8, and site selection matters.

If the North option is selected, the pool can be built in a way that reduces harm to the environment and the community. Protecting our urban canopy is a win for the community, the environment, and future generations.
Whether you vote yes or no to the borrowing question, if you care about Central Park’s benefit to the community and climate resilience, please lend your voice to support the North option as a site location. Together, we can protect access to Central Park for those who need it the most.

Why are large trees so important?

Can’t the trees just be replaced? The short answer is no. Mature trees are not just scenery — they help clean the air, stabilize soil, manage stormwater, and provide a refuge for wildlife. They provide shade and cool the air. Once large trees are cut down, it takes decades for new plantings to reach the same maturity and provide the same benefits, which is why it’s crucial to protect them whenever possible.

Garry Oak tree and Garry Oak ecosystem facts

(courtesy of the Garry Oak Meadow Preservation Society)

  • The lək̓ʷəŋən word for Garry oak ecosystem is Čaŋēɫč or Kwetlal
  • The SENĆOŦEN word for Garry oak is ĆEṈ¸IȽĆ and pronounced Chung-ae-th-ch
  • The HUL’Q’UMI’NUM word is p’hwulhp
  • Garry oak ecosystems were shaped by Indigenous agroecological management over thousands of years
  • This population of oaks connects lək̓ʷəŋən and W̱SÁNEĆ people with their lands, traditions, foods, medicines, cultural practices, and ancestors
  • Garry oak ecosystems arrived after the glacial retreat approximately 10,000 years ago, and at least 1,645 organisms (plants, insects, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals, etc.) have co-evolved with them
  • Garry oak ecosystems in Canada are some of the rarest, and the area they occupy is declining in large part due to development

How to vote

General voting day

  • Date: Saturday, February 8, 2025
  • Time: 8 a.m. – 8 p.m.
  • Location: Crystal Garden, 713 Douglas Street

Advance voting

Dates:

  • Wednesday, January 29
  • Monday, February 3
  • Wednesday, February 5
  • Time: 8 a.m. – 8 p.m.
  • Location: Crystal Garden, 713 Douglas Street