1
A memorial plaque in Mack Laing Nature Park.20 August 2003
Comox, British Columbia, Canada
2
Laing's memorial presents a quotation by Thoreau about the virtues of living a simple life. Several people who knew Laing have asserted that he lived his life very much in accordance with this sentiment. Laing's thriftiness was legendary; having broken a plate, he would be willing to spend all day mending it rather than buy a new one.3
A map of Comox, Laing's permanent residence1922
Comox, British Columbia, Canada
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The land itself stretches back from the shores of the Comox Bay along Brooklyn Creek. Laing was first directed to this location by Ronald Stewart, a fellow ornithologist.5
Laing's first dwelling on his new Comox property along Brooklyn Creek.1922
Comox, British Columbia, Canada
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Stewart recommended the area as a campsite for Laing and the rest of his National Museum party for the last half of the 1922 field season. Laing's impression of the place was so favourable that by October of that year he had bought five acres of land along the creek with plans of making it his home.7
A plaque found in Macdonald wood.20 August 2003
Comox, British Columbia, Canada
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The land itself is located on an archeological shell-midden, which had at once point stretched all along the shores of the Comox Bay to the estuary of the Courtenay River. The midden itself is the product of thousands of years of First Nations settlement in the area. A plaque in neighbouring MacDonald Wood Park commemorates this aspect of its history.9
Photograph of Mack Laing Nature Park in Comox, BC, Canada.20 August 2003
Comox, British Columbia, Canada
10
He asserted until the end of his days that no place could simply be let go -- a forest had to be carefully tended, and predators had to be kept in check, lest a bird sanctuary should become nothing but a haven to hawks, eagles, and owls. His term for this was "practical conservation". This eventually led to a downturn in the popularity of Laing's magazine articles, as the reproduction-balances-predation theorem became more and more accepted into mainstream ornithology.11
Laing's second Comox house, 'Shakesides'.19 August 2003
Comox, British Columbia, Canada
12
The house located today in Mack Laing Park is Laing's old home, "Shakesides" (the name is reminiscent of homes owned by two of Laing's early influences, Ernest Thompson Seton and John Burroughs, both of which were named "Slabsides"). The house is a pre-made, mail-order model, manufactured by the Aladdin Readicut company, but it was assembled entirely by Laing himself in 1949-1950, with the exception of some professional help for plumbing and electicity.13
A picture of Brooklyn Creek, which runs through Mack Laing Park.20 August 2003
Comox, British Columbia, Canada
14
Many of the trilliums for which the park is notable in springtime were planted along the creek by Laing himself. |
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