UPDATE: Fence destroyed at Saanich nature sanctuary replaced

(UPDATE: Feb. 2, 2021): Swan Lake Christmas Hill Nature Sanctuary had their fence replaced was it was destroyed by vandals.

The sanctuary said the fence, which protected ecosystem restoration efforts, was replaced in less than 10 days — thanks to the help of Saanich District and volunteers.

Thanks to a work party of #SwanLakeNature #volunteers + @saanich folks we got ~200ft of #ecosystem #restoration fence replaced in under 10d! This will protect newly emerging native plants from being trampled. #ChristmasHill is one of the last #GarryOak habitats on #vanisle 🙌🏽🌿 pic.twitter.com/TO7UjIbfpv

— Swan Lake Nature (@SwanLakeNature) January 29, 2021

(Original story: Jan. 21, 2021):

A fence put in place to protect ecological restoration at the Swan Lake Christmas Hill Nature Sanctuary was destroyed over the weekend.

According to the Saanich police, they were notified of the incident on Tuesday.

The nature sanctuary said that the fence had been built mostly by volunteers and donations from the public in order to protect the area from being trampled by foot traffic

The cedar split rails were nailed together, but the culprit(s) dismantled the fence and threw the rails over the side of the hill and down an embankment.

“This would have taken a considerable amount of time to complete this task and the motive for doing this is unknown,” police said.

Saanich Police are asking for any witnesses or persons with information about this incident to please come forward.

“The Swan Lake Christmas Hill Nature Sanctuary is a not-for-profit organization and this mischief has caused a significant loss for them,” they added.