This portion of the interview is about Rick Sporn’s discussion of the value of natural areas to Burnaby, the city’s history of protecting green spaces, and the complementary role the Pavilion area plays in the Burnaby Mountain Conservation Area. He talks about how the rose garden and “Playground of…
This portion of the interview is about Rick Sporn’s discussion of the value of natural areas to Burnaby, the city’s history of protecting green spaces, and the complementary role the Pavilion area plays in the Burnaby Mountain Conservation Area. He talks about how the rose garden and “Playground of the Gods” sculptures (Kamui Mintara) help Pavilion area visitors more fully appreciate the mountain setting. He also talks about the history of the construction of the Kamui Mintara sculptures.
Recording is of an interview with Rick Sporns conducted by Kathy Bossort. Rick Sporns was one of 23 participants interviewed as part of the Community Heritage Commission’s Burnaby Mountain Oral History Project. The interview is mainly about Rick Sporn’s description of the history and design of Burnaby Mountain Centennial Rose Garden and the significance of the Centennial Pavilion area in the Burnaby Mountain Conservation Area. Rick Sporns also talks about his career with the City of Burnaby’s Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services, management of Burnaby Mountain Conservation Area, and the value of natural areas to Burnaby.
Biographical Notes
Richard Sporns was born in 1957 in Daly Municipality, Manitoba, to Ulrich and Charlotte Sporns. The family moved to the Burquitlam Area of Burnaby in about 1965. Rick Sporns obtained his BSc degree in biology at SFU and a degree in landscape architecture at UBC. In 1985 he began his career in the City of Burnaby’s Park, Recreation and Cultural Services department where he currently is Assistant Manager - Parks Design. Rick was responsible for designing Burnaby Mountain Centennial Rose Garden, a legacy project proposed by Mark Stockdale to commemorate Burnaby’s 1992 Centennial. The rose garden opened to the public July 18, 1992.
City of Burnaby Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services meeting room
Interviewer Bio
Kathy Bossort is a retired archivist living in Ladner, BC. She worked at the Delta Museum and Archives after graduating from SLAIS (UBC) in 2001 with Masters degrees in library science and archival studies. Kathy grew up in Calgary, Alberta, and, prior to this career change, she lived in the West Kootenays, earning her living as a cook for BC tourist lodges and work camps. She continues to be interested in oral histories as a way to fill the gaps in the written record and bring richer meaning to history.
File contains photographs of Dave Edgecombe, of the Burnaby Fire Department, and Jeff Meyers, of the New Westminster Police, getting their heads shaved by unidentified people during "Bluey Day" at Metrotown Centre, where emergency services personnel volunteer to get their heads shaved to raise mone…
File contains photographs of Dave Edgecombe, of the Burnaby Fire Department, and Jeff Meyers, of the New Westminster Police, getting their heads shaved by unidentified people during "Bluey Day" at Metrotown Centre, where emergency services personnel volunteer to get their heads shaved to raise money for the Michael Cuccione Foundation, Canuck Place and Children's Hospital.
Collected by editorial for use in a June 2001 issue of the Burnaby NewsLeader
Caption from metadata for 535-2559-1: "Dave Edgecombe, of the Burnaby Fire Department, discovers that the path to baldness can be more harrowing than the destination, as he gives up his hair at the annual Bluey Day at Metrotown Centre. More than 50 emergency services personnel from around the Lower Mainland volunteered to get their heads shaved to raise money for the Michael Cuccione Foundation, Canuck Place and Children's Hospital."
Caption from metadata for 535-2559-2: "Jeff Meyers, of the the New Westminster Police, gets a whole new look for the summer at the annual Bluey Day at Metrotown Centre in Burnaby. More than 50 emergency services personnel from around the Lower Mainland volunteered to give up their hair to raise money for the Michael Cuccione Foundation, Canuck Place and Children's Hospital."
File contains photographs of Burnaby fire fighters assisting in the aftermath of an automobile accident that occurred when a driver lost control and hit two cars in the parking lot of the Metrotown Mazda at Kingsway and Imperial.
File contains photographs of Burnaby fire fighters assisting in the aftermath of an automobile accident that occurred when a driver lost control and hit two cars in the parking lot of the Metrotown Mazda at Kingsway and Imperial.
Collected by editorial for use in a January 2006 issue of the Burnaby NewsLeader
Caption from metadata for 535-1894-1: "Burnaby firefighters prepare the driver of a Lexus that lost control at Kingsway and Imperial and smashed into two cars on the lot at Metrotown Mazda for transport to hospital on Thursday."
Caption from metadata for 535-1894-2: "A Burnaby firefighter works to secure a Lexus that lost control at Kingsway and Imperial on Thursday, smashing into two brand new Mazdas on the lot at Metrotown Mazda. The driver of the Lexus was transported to hospital with undertermined minor injuries."
Collected by editorial for use in an August 2000 issue of the Burnaby NewsLeader
Caption from metadata: "Nobody messes with Burnaby firefighter Wade Robertson, after he tackled an alleged bank robber who was fleeing across the driveway at Fire Hall No. 3."
Collected by editorial for use in an October 2002 issue of the Burnaby NewsLeader
Caption from metadata: "Investigators from the Burnaby Fire Department and Burnaby RCMP gather evidence at the site of a fatal apartment fire in the Metrotown area."