If you walked at a brisk pace, you could do the looped trail through the wetlands at Headwaters Park in 15 minutes.

But that's not the point.

Headwaters Park, which celebrated its official opening on November 21, is all about learning to slow down and smell the forests.

"Appreciate nature, appreciate our wonderful earth," Josephine Riley says as she pauses on one of the boardwalks overlooking the fen wetland. In our busy lives, "people are often so disconnected from the land. If they were grounded more, everything's a little different. It's wonderful this planet we're on."

To encourage people to fully appreciate the natural beauties of the park, much of the trail is deliberately designed for single-file walking. This acts as a natural speed reducer, for which visitors to the park should be grateful. There's much to see if you slow down, stop and take a closer look. (One recent visitor was able to identify about 250 different types of mosses.)

The boardwalks, for instance, allow you to realize how vastly complex a wetland is. By standing on the beautiful slip-proof wooden planks above the ground, you don't disturb the lush plant life which is of vital importance to the forest's health. Wetlands are a natural purifier, and since this particular wetland is at the headwater that feeds both Terminal Creek and Cove Bay, clean water is of interest to everyone on the island.

It's amazing the many shades of green that nature has come up with, from the bright luminescence of the moss and ferns, to the cheerful green of plant leaves to the darker, richer greens of undergrowth. Riley is not a birder but she says many bird species have been identified in the park, which was logged at one point of the island's history.

From the open spaces of the wetlands, you leave the boardwalk and can find yourself in a forest that come straight out of fairy tales. Day becomes dusk, light becomes shadows and the trees stand on guard as you make your way through the dense vegetation. The soft earth literally bounces underneath your feet.

On other parts of the trail, Riley and other volunteers, including the late Maggie Cumming, whose bequest help make the park possible, have cleared the forest debris to give visitors a better view of the forests. (At times it is indeed hard to see the forest for all the trees.)

Riley was on the committee that decided the trail's path through the wetlands and forest. "The earth has an energy I can sense," she says.

Even though the park has officially opened, there is still much work to be done. Some plans are in the future, such as continuing the trail system onto a piece of designated land and creating interpretative signs to help visitors give names to all the plants they're seeing. Some are more immediate, such as continuing to "tidy up" the forest and watching for downed trees that impede passage. More volunteers and members of the Bowen Island Conservancy are always welcome.

For more information, visit www.bowenislandconservancy.org.

This is an abbreviated history of the Headwaters Park prepared for its official opening on November 21. Entry to the park is across the road from Quarry Park, where it's best to park.

The park was originally part of Cowan Point lands. George H. Cowan (1858 - 1935), a lawyer and federal Member of Parliament for Vancouver, owned over 1,000 acres comprising almost the entire southeastern portion of Bowen Island

Wolfgang Duntz and John Reid acquired 120 acres circa 2000. The original intention was to include an 18-hole golf course. A further subdivision of the parcel occurred when John Reid acquired 30 acres and Wolfganz Duntz retained 90 acres.

When John Reid was visiting Kelowna, he happened upon a "greenway". He was so taken with the idea that he incorporated it in his development plans, setting aside 15 acres - half the property - for a park/greenway surrounding the wetlands.

These wetlands and the land surrounding them have become Phase 1 of Headwaters Park, which is an important component in the creation of an island-wide trail and greenbelt system.

Mr. Reid constructed a trail around the wetlands and a boardwalk on the west side across to an island in the middle of the wetlands. This year, a trail was cleared on the island and a second boardwalk was built from the island to the eastern part of the trail, providing an attractive loop through the surrounding wetlands. The wetland's rich biodiversity shines through the colours of many sphagnum moss species, while both western white and shore pine trees grace the trail.

This final link in the trail system was funded through a joint venture of the following groups

• The Maggie Cumming Legacy Fund - administered by the Bowen Island Community Foundation . The late Maggie Cumming was a grand daughter of George Cowan

• Bowen Island Conservancy

• Bowen Island Municipality

The east side boardwalk was built by local Andy Rainsley of Bowenshire Landscaping with design by Wil Hilsen of the Bowen Island Municipality and Josephine Riley representing the Greenways Advisory Committee and the Bowen Island Conservancy.

A substantial amount of the materials used were milled on Bowen by Bowen Forest Products from blowdown cedar and the decking used was offcuts from a research project by FPInnovations - the forest industry research facility at UBC.

The entry-way, across-island trail, and east side entry trail were all completed with volunteer helpers. The construction of the boardwalk was monitored on behalf of the Federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and the B.C. Ministry of Environment by Whitehead Environmental Consultants Ltd.

The park is a fine example of a number of community groups and businesses working together to create a lasting legacy for Bowen Island.