Jim Good will join UNBC’s graduating class on May 31st when he receives an honorary Doctor of Laws degree.
Good is known to the Prince George and Northern BC community for the Goodsir Nature Park, his life’s work which he has singlehandedly been building and running for nearly 35 years.
“I’ve won awards before, but this is wonderful,” Good told My PG Now, adding the announcement from UNBC was a complete surprise. “I couldn’t believe it. I was so overwhelmed.”
Good grew up in the Vancouver / Burnaby area and first discovered his love for nature while on camping trips with his family.
“I was fascinated by the trees and the wildflowers in and around where we camped,” he said.
“I came up [to Prince George] almost 51 years ago to start a new life for myself. I knew what I wanted to do, I had my dreams and goals,” Good recalled. “I brought three things with me: a homemade camper on four tires which I would live in for almost two years to save for my dream, a battery operated record player, and a bible.”
The Goodsir Nature Park is one of a kind, Good said it offers “two miles of connecting trails, native trees of Canada, and other plants growing in hundreds of display pots on various trails.”
There are two museums at the park as well, the Goodsir Botanical museum – that features over 3,000 dried samples from all across Canada – and the JL Good Vinyl Museum, which has more than 42,000 vinyl records from the ‘golden era’ of music.
The park also has its own radio station.
All of this was built just by Good.
“No sponsor, no volunteers, no help, no support back in those early years. It was a tough lifestyle and I did my best to get through,” he remembered. “I am so proud, and my wife and daughter are equally proud as well.”
The park is, and always has been, non-profit and by donation to visit.
Good said this is because “I want people to come out and experience what I have done over a lifetime. That means more to me than going after people’s wallets.”
Goodsir Nature Park will celebrate its 35th anniversary on June 21st.
Good added he now has a team of five or six reliable volunteers that are regularly helping him maintain the park, and 80% of the trails are currently wheelchair and stroller friendly.
You can read more about Good, the park, and his honorary degree here.