BC Parks 100 celebration lights up Golden Ears

With a holiday season bow, BC Parks wrapped up its 100th anniversary celebration in Golden Ears Provincial Park today with a symbolic tree-lighting that showcased the park's nearly $1-million electrical upgrade, announced Environment Minister Terry Lake.

MAPLE RIDGE - With a holiday season bow, BC Parks wrapped up its 100th anniversary celebration in Golden Ears Provincial Park today with a symbolic tree-lighting that showcased the park's nearly $1-million electrical upgrade, announced Environment Minister Terry Lake.

Funded through BC Parks' 2011-12 capital budget, electricity was upgraded in the day-use area at Golden Ears and introduced to the campground, which offers 409 vehicle-accessible sites. A new, buried hydroelectric cable replaces five noisy diesel generators with a clean-energy solution that reduces greenhouse gas emissions. It also eliminates the use of 30,000 litres of diesel fuel per year and about $40,000 in fuel and maintenance costs each year.

BC Parks celebrated its last centennial event in the day-use area and kept people warm around a campfire while drinking hot chocolate. About 50 students from the Environmental School in Maple Ridge provided musical entertainment with Jerry the Moose conducting. BC Parks 100 partner, ...