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The winter storms that wreaked havoc on Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland throughout November and December left their mark on the University of Victoria as well.
The campus was closed for only the second time in its history on Nov. 27 after wet, heavy snow and icy streets brought down trees and made travel treacherous. Facilities management crews plowed out campus roads, parking lot entrances and some pathways but BC Transit buses could not navigate many routes, prompting the closure.
No sooner had the snow melted than a series of windstorms caused more damage, bringing down a half dozen campus trees along with heavy limbs and branches. In the wake of the most serious storm on Dec. 15, the campus jogging trails and Mystic Vale were closed for several days due to fallen debris and the threat that more trees could topple.
Calling the storms “nature’s way of pruning,” grounds manager Bentley Sly says that his crews will be conducting some post-storm major pruning over the next couple of months for “the shape and the health of the trees.”
In the aftermath of the snowstorm, there were concerns about severe damage in Finnerty Gardens but Sly says that the plants “have a way of refurbishing themselves . . . given time and better weather.” Sly says the storm aftermath presents opportunities to collect cuttings to start new plants to replace those lost in arguably the worst storm season on record.
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