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Letter regarding Centennial Square over Christmas, and the foreboding lack of illumination over the Sequoia

By Pam Harrison and Leo Polowich
Jan 1, 2025

My husband and I enjoyed a recent walk through Centennial Square in Victoria. The massed lighted metal trees, substantial but at a reasonable scale for viewing by adults and children, the many other well designed and distributed lights and the ferris wheel all combined to make a really pleasing and interesting seasonal walk. In addition, the donation only approach meant that families can easily enjoy the ferris wheel rides over the holiday week. Centennial Square became a pleasant destination for a Christmas walk. We cannot comment on the cost, but we could see value for residents in this seasonal enhancement. 

However we could not help noticing that the one massive and historic real tree in Centennial Square was not illuminated.  A conifer of similar size was illuminated in front of the Legislature. We wonder why the beautiful sequoia was not illuminated in Centennial Square. Could it be because this would draw attention to the beauty and majesty of a tree slated for removal in the face of Victoria’s redevelopment plans for this area? We hope others have taken note. 

Can no other solution be found that will both honor this historic tree and its benefits (amongst its many ecosystem services are its significant noise reduction function due to its massive dense size and  location between the heavy traffic on Douglas, including the bus stop, and the rest of the square) while addressing a perceived need for updating?

We note also the excellent piece on this issue from CRD Watch December 18th by Mary Fowles. 

Sincerely

Pam Harrison and Leo Polowich





See also: Centennial Square to become a “living room” for downtown condo dwellers in the absence of public park space by Mary Fowles – CRD Watch Homepage