Lifelong nature conservationist Jim Good, the founder of Goodsir Nature Park, is going back to school.
On Friday, May 31st in the afternoon convocation ceremony at UNBC, Good will receive an honorary Doctor of Laws degree.
Good realized his dream in 1989 when he opened Goodsir Nature Park, a 160-acre botanical park 32 kilometres north of Prince George accessed by a network of walking trails that displays more than 3,000 plant species native to Canada,
“Growing up in Vancouver, I began collecting plant samples as a young boy of six or seven and by the time I was 13, I knew that I wanted to buy land someday,” said Good, in a UNBC release. “In 1973, I moved to Prince George to be closer to nature and I set my sights on opening a park and sharing my interests with others.”
Good homesteaded on the property, where he raised his family on a modest janitor’s salary. His park features trees, shrubs and flowers Good has collected in the northern B.C. and on two cross-Canada trips. Visitors have access to a picnic area, overnight campsites and two museums.
His collection of pressed plants, rocks and soil exhibits are on display in the Goodsir Botanical Museum. Music lovers of the golden era will enjoy the JL Good Vinyl Museum, which has 42,000 vinyl records, mostly 45s (singles) which Good plays on his radio station CGNP.
Admission to the park is by donation and for 35 years Good has freely given his time and shared his knowledge of botany with visitors. The park has become known as educational hub for the community, designated by the Canadian Botanical Conservatory.
It’s become a popular mecca for school-aged groups seeking an enjoyable place to visit and learn on field trips.
In 2022 Good received the BC Achievement Community Award for his dedication to conservation and his contributions to the community.
“Being a caretaker of this land has been my life’s work and sharing it with others has brought me immense joy,” said Good. “To now be receiving this honorary Doctor of Laws degree from UNBC in acknowledgement of my efforts is above and beyond the goals I set for myself as a young man.”
Good keeps a guest register at the park where a comment from a university student stands out among the hundreds written in that book, which reads:
‘Words fail me. A must for all of Canada to see.”
