The Nurse Log
2024-
The Nurse Log was created as part of the City of Vancouver, Engineering Artist in Residence (2020-2024). The Nurse Log and related works are integrated into the St. George Rainway. All works will be installed by 2026.
The Nurse Log is a metaphor for the care and stewardship of the new ecologies forming along the St. George Rainway. These fallen logs support the growth of young seedlings, mosses, and fungi towards regeneration. They also recall the pre-colonial coastal forest that surrounded the now buried stream at this site.
“Hidden streams” such as this exist throughout the lower Mainland. They were piped underground as part of settlement and increasing urbanization. These streams piped and otherwise feed into the ocean. Currently, the City of Vancouver is looking to nature-based solutions such as rainways to manage rainwater to prevent pollutants from reaching the ocean.
Rainways are park-like networks of green rainwater infrastructure features like rain gardens that incorporate plants, trees, and soil to manage rainwater. These natural elements work with the pipes, the street, and other parts of the built environment to capture and clean rainwater before returning it to the ecosystem. COV Website
The unique seating near The Nurse Log was inspired by Trametes versicolor fungi, commonly known as turkey tail for its semi-circular shape with ruffled edges.
Photo Credit: Nigel Laing