Seniors create their own guerrilla park

By RIDWAAN ADAS

Along West 75th Avenue in South Vancouver, across the Fraser River from Sea Island, a small gathering space has quietly taken shape at Fraser River Park.

There’s a fire pit surrounded by wooden seating, rocks carefully placed to form steps, and a table-like surface where people rest their drinks or share food. The river flows directly in front of it, and families, dog walkers, and passersby often stop to sit and take in the view.

What makes this space unique is that it wasn’t built or sanctioned by the city.
It was created at their own expense by a group of older adults and seniors working for free.

Saja Summerville, 52, helped lead much of the work that shaped the space.

He said the project originally started with three regulars who began clearing rocks and shaping the area along the riverbank. Over time, more people who visited the park started lending a hand. What began as a small effort gradually grew into a group of nearly 10 older adults and seniors who now help maintain and improve the space.

“It just kind of happened,” Summerville said. “We never really planned it as a project. We just started coming down here and doing one little thing at a time.”

Developing the park

The group first started gathering around nine months ago after noticing a rocky section of the riverbank that seemed like it could be something more.

“We saw this little rock that needed to be removed,” Summerville said. “That was kind of the turning point.”

From there, the project slowly grew. Members of the group started meeting regularly, sometimes every day, moving rocks, constructing a firepit, and creating places to sit.

“I made most of the wooden furniture you see here,” Summerville said. “The benches and some of the tables are made from logs we found nearby. It’s just using what’s already here.”

The work quickly became something the group looked forward to.
“It wasn’t work to survive or make money,” he said. “It was a work of passion. At the end of the day I’d go home feeling really good.”

In time, the project turned into a social routine. The group created a weekly tradition they call “Work Wednesdays.”

“We bring chainsaws, tools, whatever we have,” Summerville said. “Everyone just pitches in. Some people bring tools, some bring food, some bring ideas. It all just comes together.”

Despite the informal nature of the project, the builders have thought carefully about how the space interacts with the natural environment.

“When the tides come in, the water can reach right up here,” Summerville said, pointing toward the fire pit. “So we had to build things in a way that lets the water come and go without washing everything away.”

Significance of the project 

A regular park user, Michal Svoboda, who has watched the space develop, said the project has gradually changed how people use the area.

“I know this neighbourhood really well,” Svoboda said. “I noticed something was happening here. Somebody started working on it, building something, and other people started taking advantage of it too, which is fine. People join the space. It’s comfortable. Nice view too.”

He said the openness of the space makes it easy for anyone to take part.

“You don’t need a membership. If you want to show up, you show up,” he said. “Bring a couple of drinks, have a good time, enjoy the sun, then walk home. Where’s the harm in that?”

Svoboda added that spaces like this are rare in Vancouver and help bring people together in a more natural way.

“After COVID, people were stuck inside and alone,” he said. “Spaces like this bring people together again. That’s what humans actually need.”

Because the structure was built in a public park, the Voice contacted the Vancouver park board to ask about the legality of the project and the city’s view on residents building informal gathering spaces in parks.

In a written statement, the park board said public spaces are typically created through consultation, research and long-term planning.

“The Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation take into account public consultation, research, and landscape design when creating public spaces to meet community needs,” the statement said.The board did not comment directly on the gathering space.

For Summerville, the real success of the project is uniting members of the community.

“We call it the living room,” he said. “Because it’s alive. It keeps changing depending on who comes down here.”