In 1993 a determined group of neighbours and supporters launched a campaign to save a beloved waterfront woodland known as ‘Macdonald Wood’ from high density residential development. An intense period of lobbying, fundraising and media awareness led to the community, municipality and province working together to fund and create the Macdonald Wood Park, now one of the most popular and well used parks in Comox.
None of this would have been possible without the unsung and steadfast support of Kella and George Newson, the adjacent property owners who were under extreme pressure from the developers to join their scheme. Not only did Kella and George resist the developers, they quietly provided financial support to the community fundraisers to give them more time and more financial leverage to complete the purchase.
George and Kella continued to live and raise their family on their piece of paradise nestled between Macdonald Wood Park and Mack Laing Park long after the din of the campaign subsided. For decades the public has walked through their private property between the two parks, many unaware of the generosity of the Newson family.
Now the next generation of Newsons have added to their parents legacy. With the addition of the Newson property to the Comox waterfront parks, Comox has completed a stunning and unique collection of four adjacent parks – Macdonald Wood, Mack Laing, Baybrook and now the Newson Family Nature Park. As perpetual stewards of Macdonald Wood, the Macdonald Wood Park Society is thrilled to celebrate this outcome and the legacy of Kella and George Newson and welcomes new opportunities for collaboration on park stewardship, invasive species removal, connecting trails and supporting biodiversity in the ecosystem of the four parks.