Clean up underway after rough winter at Saint John’s Irving Nature Park

The Irving Nature Park in Saint John, N.B., will be closed to trail users over the next few days as clean up from a damaging winter continues.

According to a post on the park’s social media account, this past winter featured “some of the strongest winds and most extreme weather” in its 30 year history.

A stroll around the park on Wednesday showed uprooted and snapped trees scattered throughout, with some blocking pathways. Stretches of trail sections were also washed out, and erosion was apparent in certain locations.

Snapped trees at the Irving Nature Park in Saint John, N.B, as pictured on April 10, 2024. (Nick Moore/CTV Atlantic)

JDI did not respond to an interview request, nor would detail the extent of damage aside from saying replanting will be necessary “in small areas.” The social media post said park access would be restricted on weekdays until early next week, with trails accessible over the weekend.

An uprooted tree blocks a trail at the Irving Nature Park in Saint John, N.B., as pictured on April 10, 2024. (Nick Moore/CTV Atlantic)

A pre-Christmas storm in December 2023 was responsible for a swath of damage at the park, with winds taking out trees and storm surges closing the site’s beach road.

The same storm was responsible for destroying 2,000 trees at Mactaquac Provincial Park, near Fredericton.

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