In Shawnigan Lake, volunteers don’t just build bike racks and museums – they build a stronger community.
Although it’s unincorporated, Shawnigan Lake is home to 9,000 people spread between its village core and lake shore. Undeniably, it’s a beautiful area.
For Sierra Acton, Area Director, Cowichan Valley Regional District, the community’s setting helps bond its residents.
“Shawnigan is still heavily forested,” said Acton. “You feel it when you arrive and smell the cedars. Everyone lives here for the community, whether it’s mountain biking and kayaking, or motorsports and hunting. They’re different user groups, but people are mostly respectful.”
The area is best known as a summer destination for lake activities and its two private boarding schools. Shawnigan Lake School and St John’s Academy house nearly 700 students during the academic school year from across Canada and abroad. In the summer months, when lakeside cottages and 2nd homes are full, the local population nearly doubles.
While many local businesses thrive because of the summer crowds, the economic benefit isn’t what it could be.
“Shawnigan is so spread out,” said Lori Treloar, Executive Director, Shawnigan Lake Museum, “but we continue to work at building a core community.”
The village centre has essential services, including a pharmacy, general store, and a gas station. There are also multiple restaurants, cafes, bakeries, and an ice cream shop.
A collaborative effort between the Cowichan Valley Regional District and the Shawnigan Lake Community led to the creation of the community’s first Village Plan. The document focuses on developing a strong community core across six strategic locations.
“People here have been committed for a long time,” says Treloar, “and it’s exciting to see this momentum finally taking off.”
Building community is a common thread in Shawnigan Lake’s progress, with the village plan leading to a creative placemaking project along the waterfront. The Shawnigan Resident Association led the Connect, Play, and Relax in Shawnigan Village initiative through an investment with Island Coastal Economic Trust.
This community placemaking project, managed by Dinah Clark, Volunteer Director, focused on connecting residents to the waterfront and public beach access points.
“We wanted benches, bike racks, and public art,” says Clark. “Finding an artist was a challenge, but the final choice was Angellos Glaros for his powerful nature theme.”
Glaros, who discovered metalwork in 2010, was commissioned to build four artistic nature-themed bike racks along the waterfront rail trail. Like all his public art projects, he described it as a passion, rather than a job.
“People look at these pieces and say how can they be steel,” says Glaros. “None of this feels like work. When I look back at what I created, I feel this huge sense of accomplishment.”
The trail isn’t just practical – it’s beautiful. Four seating areas now offer spaces to pause, relax, and connect with the waterfront, blending recreation with community art.
“These bike racks are artwork,” says Treloar, “so suddenly we have artwork throughout our village. The trail and the museum are raising the curb appeal in the community.”
While the waterfront project connected residents to nature, the museum renovation is reconnecting the community to its heritage.
Treloar is now guiding Shawnigan Lake Museum through the final phase of its renovation. The project, which began in 2023 with an investment with the Trust through its Capital and Innovation Program, will soon transform the museum into an entirely new venue.
The new museum will triple the size of the existing facility, allowing more space to showcase the work of E.J. Hughes, highlight the Kinsol Trestle, and feature local artists. Treloar believes it will remain an intimate space focused on fostering a sense of community. Construction is nearing completion and, optimistically, she hopes to welcome its first visitors in February.
“We’re creating a community living room,” says Treloar, “so people will always have a safe place to play games, read, and gather. The museum connects to the park and the CVRD is already talking about further work to start beautifying the area.”
The ongoing work all ties into the Shawnigan Village Plan and its six activity nodes to strategically focus development on long-term community goals. The residents continue to work together to drive these projects forward.
“It’s all about building community,” says Treloar. “there are people who have lived here and been committed to this for a long time. It’s exciting to see the momentum right now.”
From bike racks to museum spaces, Shawnigan Lake’s volunteers continue to turn ideas into reality. As new families arrive and momentum grows, this small community is proving that big dreams are built together
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Island Coastal Economic Trust invested with both the Shawnigan Lake Historical Society and the Shawnigan Residents Association towards two separate initiatives.
They led the initiative to expand the Shawnigan Lake Museum. `The Trust invested $250,000 toward a $1,827,000 project budget through the Capital and Innovation program.
The Trust also invested $28,000 with the Shawnigan Residents Association towards their Connect, Play, and Relax in Shawnigan Village initiative that installed sitting areas and public art-inspired bicycle racks at lake access and viewpoints throughout the community. This investment was made through the Community Placemaking program.
Previously, the Trust invested $1,645,337 towards the nearly $10m Cowichan Valley Trail Initiative that was led by the Cowichan Valley Regional District in 2015. This project, which included restoration of the Kinsol Trestle and eight trail components, created a destination trail that links Cowichan Valley communities with the Trans Canada Trail.
