1. Bench choice and description

View of my whole bench, the staircase is just to the right

The bench that I truly felt is suitable for this project is located in Lynn Canyon Park, North Vancouver. There are a few significant reasons behind why I chose this specific bench and not any other. Firstly, the most meaningful reason of all is that this bench is a very significant reminder of my childhood (the North van part of my childhood) and also has sentimental value to me. Back when I was just a youngster I would go down to Lynn creek (in Lynn Canyon Park) virtually everyday, sometimes even twice a day, pretty much whenever I could convince my parents to take me and on my way there I would pass this bench every time I went down. This creek as well as park was almost my second home, I would spend a lot of my childhood time there doing a variety of activities such as: playing fetch with all the dogs that would be enjoying the creek, snorkeling with a net to try and catch some salmon fry in the deeper parts of the creek, skipping rocks, making little side streams by moving rocks/gravel, and just exploring the nature terrain all around. After a tiring day of playing in and around the creek the walk back up all the hills would begin, after walking through a substantial amount of the trail I would eventually get to the base of the huge staircase that I dreaded every time. At the top of the staircase there would be my special bench waiting for my tired body to sit on it. Over time it became a tradition to sit down and rest at this bench after every time we would hike up the long staircase, this tradition that came about is the second important reason why I chose this bench but it also ties in with the bench reminding me of my childhood. My last significant reason for choosing this specific bench is that this bench is actually dedicated to one of my good friends grandpa. The interesting part about this dedication knowledge is that I never knew until recently. Last summer we were heading back up to my house from a classic swimming hole at the creek and we got to the base of the dreaded staircase, then finally when we got to the top of it and sat down on the bench he informed me that the dedication name is in fact his grandpas. The whole experience of walking up the stairs and sitting on the bench after gave me a strong sense of déjà vu from my childhood. My bench is evidently quite old and is made out of real wood, which has green slime all over it due to the bench’s age. It has dark green armrests, legs, and an also a dark green inscription plate with gold writing that says, “You are gone but not forgotten” Tom Spencer 1934-2002.