Dear Save the Forest Delta supporters,

Thank you for your incredible support for our online petition! It’s heartening that so many Delta residents care deeply about saving the Winskill forest. 

The protest on Monday sparked the formation of the Save the Forest Delta group. This spontaneity and the urgency of the timeline have resulted in some errors. We hope you will understand and continue to support our cause.

We kindly ask you to sign a new petition that meets provincial requirements that we will be able to put forward to the Mayor and Council of Delta. Please visit THIS LINK to sign the new petition.

Many thanks for your continued support!

Original text below:

The South Delta community is about to lose one of its greatest assets, a treasured public forest, to make way for an expanded parking lot and an additional baseball diamond at Winskill Park. This is one of the only remaining public forests in South Delta. It is an integral part of our community heritage and home to Canada's first basket disc golf course.

We love our forest. It is a valuable habitat for wildlife and humans alike. Our children and pets play here. People walk, read, and rest in the shade during hot weather. The trees keep us mentally and physically healthy year-round. The forest demands little of us compared to the benefits we receive from it.

Due to ineffective communication from the City of Delta, many community members were unaware of the proposal and, as a result, had no opportunity to respond. We have found that the majority of Winskill Park users strongly disagree with the tree cutting. Many that we spoke to were surprised and dismayed by the news. Additionally, we have found no evidence that the city conducted an inventory of wildlife species in the park before proceeding.

We, Save the Forest Delta and the wider community, stand in opposition to the proposed plan. We believe there is a way to meet the needs of everyone in the community without destroying our beloved green space. We believe athletes can be accommodated without sacrificing one of the last remaining publicly owned and used forests in South Delta.

We are calling for a moratorium on all tree cutting at Winskill until Save the Forest Delta can meet with city officials and discuss a different approach. We request that the forest be designated a Public Heritage site and preserved for the use of the general public. We demand that our voices be heard before it is too late.