From the Desk of Dr.

David Suzuki
PO Box 19011 4th Avenue West
Vancouver BC V6K 4R8
dlb@newdata.ca

September 4, 2018

Dear Port Moody,

When I came to your beautiful city in the late nineties to help advocate for the
protection of natural spaces along your hillsides, I stood alongside a growing
movement that valued the protection of nature over continued urban sprawl. I have
always been proud to have played a small part in protecting a bit of nature in your
community, since named Bert Flinn Park.

I can’t tell you how depressing it has been to follow this story through to the present
day. I had hoped that my advocacy - and the voices of thousands of Port Moody
nature lovers who joined me to rally, then voted in the referendum to create the
park - would help kick-start a long-term shift, and impact your public servants.
At first, a shift in values seemed to take root. As you created Bert Flinn Park in an
overwhelming referendum success, you replaced your City Hall’s “old guard” with
new representatives, many of whom worked to protect this natural gem. Now that
the waves of destructive development pound on the doors of your City Hall once
again, the very politicians who responded to my message in the 90’s are proving
that they really didn't get it after all…holding onto an outdated scheme to slice the
park in half with a road, undercutting its delicate ecosystem, and diminishing it for
your children’s children. All to support a developer’s desire for car-centric urban
sprawl; a shame.

I have been saying for years that environmentalists like me have failed to shift the
relationship between our political institutions and our natural world, and the case of
Bert Flinn Park is a prime example of how we should be expecting better. Our very
survival, health and well-being, to say nothing of the economy, are utterly
dependent on clean air, water, soil, sunlight and other species. Since I gave that talk
in Port Moody, we have learned our children suffer from “nature deficit disorder” if
they don’t get out into nature. In Japan, the tradition of shinrin yoku or “forest
bathing” is covered by their medical plan because being out among trees has
medical benefit. If we keep elevating our institutions ABOVE these things, then this
battle will never end.
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Port Moody

I’m only one person and I am near the end of my time on Earth. If what I did to
help in the 90’s was useful, you are now the legacy. The chance to embrace long
term sustainability and the protection of your local natural environment is in your
hands. It’s your time to show wise leadership, and to choose leadership wisely.

Sincerely,

David Suzuki

dlb/DTS