People have been visiting BC Hydro’s John Hart Project Interpretive Centre at the parking lot to the Elk Falls Suspension Bridge for over five years.
With the John Hart project winding down this year, and a new focus on three proposed dam safety projects, it was time for a refresh and a new name: Campbell River Hydroelectric Facilities Discovery Centre.
“We’re very proud of our small yet visual interpretive centre and the awareness it continues to provide for the community, and tourists from around the world, of the Campbell River hydroelectric system and the John Hart Generating Station Replacement Project,” said BC Hydro spokesperson, Stephen Watson. “We’ve had about 74,000 visits since it opened. The feedback has been excellent on how the centre was setup and the type of information conveyed. Of course, it really helps to be in such a beautiful location and have such a fascinating underground powerhouse project. The centre has certainly exceeded our expectations for creating a place for community engagement. At the same time, some of the content had become out of date. We also have large capital projects proposed at the three dams. So we’ve just competed a refresh and we’re excited for people to see the new content.”
All 13 wall panels within the centre were replaced with the new look on March 15. The touch screens remain in place to provide various videos about the watershed, facilities and projects.
All the various road signs that direct people to the centre will also be updated with the new name.
“We are very appreciative of our relationship with the Museum at Campbell River, where we have an agreement in place for them to staff the centre,” adds Watson. “This collaboration brings another angle to the centre experience with the museum’s perspective on the watershed.”
The Campbell River Hydroelectric Facilities Discovery Centre is open 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday until about mid-May. The centre will then be open five days a week from Wednesday to Sunday until the Labour Day weekend. There is no admission fee.