The stewards of the idyllic Bighill Creek trail so popular with Cochrane-area hikers are encouraged by the post-pandemic uptick in numbers of users, but discouraged by a recent trend on the negative side – vandalism.
The Mount St. Francis Creek Trail (commonly called the Franciscan trail by frequent users) runs along Bighill Creek, starting at a trailhead accessed at the northern end of 4th Ave, shortly after the pavement ends.
Painted messages on stainless steel bridge railings are one thing – they can be painted over or ground off, said Bighill Creek Preservation Society (BCPS) president Gerry Bietz.
But when the senseless defacing of old white spruce trees happens, it’s not an easy fix.
“We encourage people to use the reserve responsibly. We want to protect the environment here,[as] it’s an opportunity for outdoor leisure that supports health and well-being,” Bietz said.
“It’s an important issue for us and should be for the community.”
Touring the trail last week with The Eagle and Bietz, BCPS vice-president Vivian Pharis tried to understand why anyone would resort to wilfully harming old growth trees.
Pharis said she’s happy to see more people hiking recently – more so than previous years – which she thinks is probably due to the post-pandemic effect.
BCPS' vice-president said she first learned of the vandalism from a local high-school student, and estimates the damage was done on April 10 or 11. She has her own theory as to who is responsible for the damage.
“I believe the perpetrators are students as well, because of the level of interest in so-called fertility symbols, and references to marijuana – it’s just that type of adolescent interest,” Pharis said.
She also supported her theory with the fact the defacement came to light right after spring break.
All that said, there is no evidence at all pointing to any specific age group, or even to where those responsible may be from.
“In my opinion it’s a travesty against nature, because the paint is not going to be easy to get off living trees,” Pharis said.
She said her internet research on how to remove spray paint from living trees had so far produced limited results.
“It says you have to be cautious. You can’t use solvents because that will be absorbed into the cambium layer and interfere with the tree’s growth,” she said.
Pharis thought it might be a good exercise for students to consider how to address clean-up possibilities, as well as the problem of vandalism in general.
She brought some eco-friendly cleaner out to try on the trees the day of the tour, but would need a few days to determine if it was going to work at all.
Bietz is concerned about possible longer-term consequences, if, as he suspects, they won’t have much success removing the paint from the trees.
“If we can’t erase it, it becomes a permanent scar, and does it bring on more of this desecration?” he asked.
There is no consistent theme to the messages. Some are profane, but one on a bridge states, “You are loved.”
The damages have been reported to the Cochrane RCMP.
Besides the long-term effects of having a criminal record, there are other consequences for anyone convicted of damaging property.
Under the Criminal Code of Canada, deliberately or recklessly damaging property could bring a prison sentence of up to 10 years, depending on the extent of the damage. There is no specific charge of vandalism. It is considered criminal mischief, which is covered in Section 430 (1) of the Code.
There are 40 acres (16 hectares) of nature preserve covering the area that includes the trail.
Rocky View County maintains ownership of the environmental reserve in the valley, but the stewardship of the land was turned over to BCPS.
The society is meeting with RVC’s department of transport to see what can be done about the bridge defacement.
The work done by the BCPS preserving and enhancing the trails around town is all done by volunteers.
Pharis contacted the three area high-school principals along with a couple of teachers the BCPS has had relationships with in the past, but as of May 8, had only heard back from St. Timothy Junior/Senior High School.
“It’s kind of disappointing to me that I’ve only had a response from the principal of St. Timothy,” Pharis said, adding she contacted the three schools via email April 20.
The Eagle put calls in to the principals at Cochrane High School and Bow Valley High School but had no response as of May 8.
Principal Marilyn Nasse of St. Timothy told The Eagle they had been contacted by BCPS and “were saddened by the vandalism” incidents.
“I reached out to the science teachers here at St. Timothy to see if there was something that they knew to do,” Nasse said. “Unfortunately, their areas of expertise do not extend to that kind of restoration work.
“However, in the coming weeks, we will be taking our Grade 8 and 9 students through that area and doing a garbage clean-up. It doesn’t fix the trees, but it cleans things up a bit.”
