Interview with Joe Sadowski, 2017
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/museumdescription5115
- Repository
- Burnaby Village Museum
- Date
- June 16, 2017
- Collection/Fonds
- Burnaby Village Museum fonds
- Description Level
- Item
- Physical Description
- 1 sound recording (mp3) (01:46.06 min)
- Scope and Content
- Recording is an interview with Joe Sadowski conducted by Burnaby Village Museum employee Rebeca Salas, June 16, 2017. Major themes discussed: the history of the Burnaby Park Advisory Association and the Group of Ten, and the ongoing conservation of Burnaby Lake. 00:00 – 3:05: Joe discusses his inv…
- Repository
- Burnaby Village Museum
- Collection/Fonds
- Burnaby Village Museum fonds
- Series
- Museum Oral Histories series
- Subseries
- Museum research interviews subseries
- Description Level
- Item
- Physical Description
- 1 sound recording (mp3) (01:46.06 min)
- Material Details
- Interviewer: Rebeca Salas Interviewee: Joe Sadowski Date of interview: June 16, 2017 Total Number of Tracks: 1 Total Length of all Tracks: 1:46:06
- Scope and Content
- Recording is an interview with Joe Sadowski conducted by Burnaby Village Museum employee Rebeca Salas, June 16, 2017. Major themes discussed: the history of the Burnaby Park Advisory Association and the Group of Ten, and the ongoing conservation of Burnaby Lake. 00:00 – 3:05: Joe discusses his involvement with the Association from its early days in the late 1960s. He describes the formation of the group, its original intentions, and its changing focus. 3:05 - 5:54: Joe recalls how the group decided to further their purpose by involving the public, and the rationale behind building a trail system. He explains how the Burnaby Outdoor Education Association was formed and describes its activities. 5:54 – 9:20: Joe relates how the Association was able to access federal funding for the trail. He shares his perspective about local businesses having changed their priorities since that time. 9:20 – 13:31: Joe discusses how the group expanded its base, and why it changed its name to the Burnaby Lake Advisory. He explains how the trail system came to be under the jurisdiction of Metro Parks, and why the name was changed to the Burnaby Lake Park Association. He describes the shift in the group’s composition and responsibilities. 13:31 – 17:06: Rebeca notes that the museum is interested in the reasons for the group coming together in the 1960s. Joe describes how the group’s plans regarding the lake informed their subsequent activities there. He talks about the changing attitude to pollution in the 1970s. 17:06 - 22:05: Joe describes what Burnaby Lake was like in the 1960s. He discusses its importance to migrating birds, and talks about the improvement to Still Creek. 22:05 – 29:48: Joe talks about the big Burnaby Lake Clean Up. He notes that the public’s changing attitudes have made further large clean-ups unnecessary. 29:48 – 32:00: Joe talks about the work of the Eagle Creek Streamkeepers, the Sapperton Fish and Game Club, The Semiahmoo Rod and Gun Club, and the Hyde Creek Watershed Society. He observes that game clubs have broader interests now than sport alone. 32:00 – 37:37: Joe discusses the return of salmon to the lake, the improvement in the quality of water, and the increased numbers of birds. He shares his perspective that the relationship of the public to the lake changed as visitors began to take ownership. 37:37 – 39:30: Joe talks about the importance of leadership in conservation efforts, discussing how Bob Gardner and Elmer Rudolph inspired people to become involved. He describes the positive results of volunteering. 39:30 – 41:48: Asked what he feels has made the biggest difference in improving the health of the lake, Joe describes the change in the attitude of the public and contrasts this new environmental awareness with that of people in other parts of the world. 41:48 – 47:46: Joe discusses the importance of the buffer zone, and of giving students the opportunity to be involved in efforts to remove invasive species and plant native ones. 47:46 – 56:10: Joe talks about the nesting box program. He notes that interacting with wildlife may influence people’s future behavior and describes the experience as cross-cultural. 56:10 – 58:17: Joe discusses the design of the trail around the lake. 58:17 – 1:02:32: Joe mentions the advisory role of Dr. Milton McLaren in the Association’s trail building work. He remarks on the importance to the project of people such as Tony Fabian and John Thomson. Joe also discusses the material used for the trail’s construction. 1:02:32 – 1:10:53: Joe describes the Association’s relationship with the Nature House and the Wildlife Rescue Centre. He recalls the acquisition of the Nature House building. 1:10:53 – 1:19:57: Asked about consultation, Joe describes the design and construction of the trail as the only subject in which the group’s expertise was deferred to. He discusses his concerns about dredging, and mentions the installation of squirrel nesting boxes as a successful enhancement project. 1:19:57 – 1:28:05: Joe talks about how the Burnaby Lake area has changed since he moved to Burnaby in 1964, and mentions some of the detrimental effects of development. He recalls the construction of the original observation tower by Aril Dalsvaag’s students at Burnaby Central Secondary School, talks about the current tower and discusses the success of the Association’s turtle nesting pad. 1:28:05 – 1:34:50: Joe discusses the introduced species in Burnaby Lake, and the efforts to eradicate them. He mentions the work of Bob Gunn, from B.C.I.T., a former student of Bob Gardner. 1:34:50 – 1:49:28: Asked about the substances used to control the mosquito population at Burnaby Lake, Joe voices his concerns about the effects of spraying, noting that the butterfly garden has been negatively affected by it in the past. He describes the origin of the garden. 1:40:28 – 1:46:06: Rebeca summarizes the interview and thanks Joe. Joe describes his hopes for the B.L.P.A. and the future of the lake. He reiterates the importance of preservation and accessibility and remarks on the number and diversity of the visitors.
- History
- Interviewee: Joe Sadowski is a founding member of the Burnaby Lake Park Association which was formerly named the Burnaby Outdoor Education Association. He has been recognized for his environmental efforts and was awarded the Community Stewardship Star in 2000 and 2004. Interviewer: Rebeca Salas is a MA student in the Department of Geography at Simon Fraser University. Rebeca is interested in the relationship between property and memory. Rebeca is an experienced researcher and oral history interviewer and has conducted several oral histories for Landscapes of Injustice Archive.
- Creator
- Burnaby Village Museum
- Subjects
- Environmental Issues
- Environmental Issues - Environmental Protection
- Geographic Features - Streams
- Geographic Features - Natural Waterways
- Geographic Features - Parks
- Responsibility
- Salas, Rebeca
- Geographic Access
- Burnaby Lake Regional Nature Park
- Burnaby Lake
- Accession Code
- BV018.18.1
- Access Restriction
- No restrictions
- Date
- June 16, 2017
- Media Type
- Sound Recording
Audio Tracks
Interview with Joe Sadowski, 2017, June 16, 2017
Interview with Joe Sadowski, 2017, June 16, 2017
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/media/hpo/_Data/_BVM_Sound_Recordings/Oral_Histories/2018_0018_0001_001.mp3Stormont Overpass
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/archivedescription45376
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- August 1978
- Collection/Fonds
- Columbian Newspaper collection
- Description Level
- Item
- Physical Description
- 1 photograph : b&w ; 12.5 x 24 cm
- Scope and Content
- Aerial photograph of Stormont Overpass which would provide a direct link from the Trans Canada Highway (previously named the 401 Freeway) to the Lougheed Highway and Simon Fraser University. This was taken when the excavation work was completed, and grading and paving still need to be done.
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- August 1978
- Collection/Fonds
- Columbian Newspaper collection
- Physical Description
- 1 photograph : b&w ; 12.5 x 24 cm
- Description Level
- Item
- Record No.
- 480-271
- Access Restriction
- No restrictions
- Reproduction Restriction
- No restrictions
- Accession Number
- 2003-02
- Scope and Content
- Aerial photograph of Stormont Overpass which would provide a direct link from the Trans Canada Highway (previously named the 401 Freeway) to the Lougheed Highway and Simon Fraser University. This was taken when the excavation work was completed, and grading and paving still need to be done.
- Media Type
- Photograph
- Photographer
- Hodge, Craig
- Notes
- Title based on contents of photograph
- Note in pencil on verso of photograph reads: "Altair Aviation / photo by / Craig Hodge"
- Geographic Access
- Cariboo Road
- Gaglardi Way
- Trans Canada Highway
- Historic Neighbourhood
- Burquitlam (Historic Neighbourhood)
- Planning Study Area
- Burnaby Lake Area
- Cameron Area
Images
Stormont Overpass
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/archivedescription45377
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- August 1978
- Collection/Fonds
- Columbian Newspaper collection
- Description Level
- Item
- Physical Description
- 1 photograph : b&w ; 16.5 x 24 cm
- Scope and Content
- Aerial photograph of Stormont Overpass which would provide a direct link from the 401 Freeway to the Lougheed Highway and Simon Fraser University. This was taken when the excavation work was completed, and grading and paving still need to be done.
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- August 1978
- Collection/Fonds
- Columbian Newspaper collection
- Physical Description
- 1 photograph : b&w ; 16.5 x 24 cm
- Description Level
- Item
- Record No.
- 480-272
- Access Restriction
- No restrictions
- Reproduction Restriction
- No restrictions
- Accession Number
- 2003-02
- Scope and Content
- Aerial photograph of Stormont Overpass which would provide a direct link from the 401 Freeway to the Lougheed Highway and Simon Fraser University. This was taken when the excavation work was completed, and grading and paving still need to be done.
- Media Type
- Photograph
- Photographer
- Hodge, Craig
- Notes
- Title based on contents of photograph
- Newspaper clipping attached to verso of photograph reads: "After six years, work on the Stormont interchange in Burnaby is only a few weeks from completion. The huge clover-leaf junction of Gaglardi Way and the Freeway is on the top left-hand corner, with Gaglardi Way approaching from the bottom right where a bridge has been completed over the Burlington Northern tracks. An embankment linking that bridge with one over the Brunette River awaits only a layer of tarmac, and a path has been cleared through the woods to link up with the clover-leaf. The present access to the Freeway is along the road running from the left to right across the middle of the picture. The interchange will open next month."
- Note in pencil on verso of photograph reads: "Altair Aviation / photo by / Craig Hodge"
- Geographic Access
- Cariboo Road
- Gaglardi Way
- Trans Canada Highway
- Historic Neighbourhood
- Burquitlam (Historic Neighbourhood)
- Planning Study Area
- Burnaby Lake Area
- Cameron Area
Images
Stormont Overpass
https://search.heritageburnaby.ca/link/archivedescription45380
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- [1978]
- Collection/Fonds
- Columbian Newspaper collection
- Description Level
- Item
- Physical Description
- 1 photograph : b&w ; 16 x 24 cm
- Scope and Content
- Aerial photograph of Stormont Overpass which would provide a direct link from the Trans Canada Highway (previously named the 401 Freeway) to the Lougheed Highway and Simon Fraser University. This was taken when the excavation work was completed, and paving still need to be done.
- Repository
- City of Burnaby Archives
- Date
- [1978]
- Collection/Fonds
- Columbian Newspaper collection
- Physical Description
- 1 photograph : b&w ; 16 x 24 cm
- Description Level
- Item
- Record No.
- 480-275
- Access Restriction
- No restrictions
- Reproduction Restriction
- No restrictions
- Accession Number
- 2003-02
- Scope and Content
- Aerial photograph of Stormont Overpass which would provide a direct link from the Trans Canada Highway (previously named the 401 Freeway) to the Lougheed Highway and Simon Fraser University. This was taken when the excavation work was completed, and paving still need to be done.
- Media Type
- Photograph
- Photographer
- King, Basil
- Notes
- Title based on contents of photograph
- Note on verso of photograph reads: "One of the biggest Highways"
- Geographic Access
- Cariboo Road
- Gaglardi Way
- Trans Canada Highway
- Historic Neighbourhood
- Burquitlam (Historic Neighbourhood)
- Planning Study Area
- Burnaby Lake Area
- Cameron Area