Hurricane Juan

“Hurricane Juan was a significant tropical cyclone that heavily damaged parts of Atlantic Canada in late September 2003…Juan made landfall between Shad Bay and Prospect in the Halifax Regional Municipality early on September 29 as a Category 2 hurricane with winds of 100 mph (160 km/h)” -From Wikipedia (accessed 25Nov2023)

“Point Pleasant Park was devastated by Hurricane Juan. Nearly three quarters of the park’s trees were knocked down and the park remained closed until June 2004. While there were still trees remaining, the park now had a very thin canopy. Assistance from the Canadian federal government allowed Halifax Regional Municipality to make significant progress in the recovery and renewal of the park. As of June 2008 over 70,000 Acadian forest trees had been planted in the park, surpassing the number of trees lost to Hurricane Juan.”  –  From Point Pleasant Park on Wikipedia (accessed 25Nov2023)

On a plan for restoration after the storm (from www.fathomstudio.ca/)

On September 28, 2003 Hurricane Juan hit Halifax and devastated Point Pleasant Park. The park had been damaged the previous winter by a massive ice storm and the Spruce Longhorn Beetle had done significant damage a few summers prior; the previously densely forested park was a mess of upended roots and downed trees. 75% of the trees had been lost.

In 2005 the Point Pleasant Park International Design Competition began. Through extensive public consultation it was determined that restoring the forest was of primary importance to the people of Halifax. The competition was won jointly by our firm and NIP Paysage of Montréal.

The resulting plan provides a guide for forest management and natural regeneration through selective planting and monitoring, guidelines for shoreline retention, as well as recommendations for protecting the historic artifacts found within the park.

View links to the Comprehensive Plan  (2008)