Of all the North Shore residents who could be considered "living community treasures," Heinz Berger is among them.
The seawalk. The pitch and putt golf course and the fitness circuit at Ambleside. The recreation complex and seniors centre. Parks and children's playscapes from Glenmore to Horseshoe Bay. Dundarave's ornamental centre-line flowerbeds - the first in British Columbia.
Heinz Berger was responsible for creating or improving these community amenities, and for many other innovations that defined West Vancouver during his 22 years with the municipality's parks and recreation department.
Heinz's newly published memoir, An Adventure on Two Continents - Ending in a Place of Excellence - West Vancouver, tells the story of his early life in Germany, his training in the horticultural industry and early days in Canada. It's also a look at local government at work, from an insider's perspective.
From 1961 to 1983, Heinz, who rose to head the parks department, worked with colleagues like Frank Kurucz in recreation and with a succession of mayors and councils to ensure the community's natural elements were retained as parks and public spaces were developed.
Not all of these contributions have endured. Heinz retired more than 30 years ago, after all. The totem poles erected at the community centre were last seen decomposing at Klee Wyck. The nature programs that drew crowds to Lighthouse Park were cancelled. Most of the unique rhododendrons in the Memorial Garden have been uprooted, the map of their names and locations somewhere in the municipality files. Still, Heinz Berger's legacy is there to be seen, used and enjoyed in the playgrounds and parks of West Vancouver.
His first assignment, in 1961, was to design Glenmore Park. The plan included the usual features: baseball diamond, skating rink, tennis courts and playing fields. Along the creek that runs through the park, Heinz created a children's play area with a ship's bridge complete with wheel, overlooking a wading and spray pool. As Heinz recalls, this was probably the first playscape in North America. To pay for it, he went door-to-door soliciting donations from Glenmore residents to match one from British Pacific Properties.
Innovative design using natural materials with support from individuals, local service clubs and businesses became the working model for the creation and funding of community projects under Heinz's guidance.
For the playscapes - adventure areas constructed from driftwood and other natural materials where children could exercise their imaginations and ingenuity - that popped up in parks all over West Vancouver alongside the swings and teeter-totters, parents and kids have Heinz to thank.
Heinz was born in Germany in 1923, in time to be drafted into the army during the Second World War and to be confined in a British POW camp. He returned home and carried on with his work at a landscaping company until he was able to complete his education in landscaping and horticulture. Heinz worked throughout the country, gaining experience in his new profession until 1951 when a colleague from Canada convinced him to "move away from these bombed-out cities. We need you in Canada." He arrived in Halifax in October and made his way by train to Vancouver.
Heinz started out that first winter as a labourer with the CP and CN railroads. By spring, he was working steadily in garden maintenance and was soon reunited with his fiancée and her daughter. The business grew, adding design and construction, until he headed two separate companies and was able to build his dream house in Gleneagles. A founding member of the B.C. Society of Landscape Architects, Heinz worked with colleagues Philip Tattersfield and Ernie Pitt to develop the horticultural apprentice curriculum, the foundation of B.C.'s landscape and production training programs. His work in garden design and construction, and in the creation of playscapes, brought Heinz international recognition.
Currently residing at Amica at West Vancouver, his apartment overlooks the garden he designed and that has been named for him. Most mornings, he can be found in the conservatory, with the plants.
An Adventure on Two Continents was published in time for the 64th anniversary of Heinz's arrival in Canada, October 1951. Copies are on sale at the Ferry Building Gallery and the Avant Gardener.
A book launch will be held at Amica at West Vancouver on Wednesday, Oct. 21 at 2 p.m. Email [email protected]
