Mike Hoyer enjoys the tranquil surroundings of the Venetian lagoons and canals at the west end of Westminster Quay. He'll be leading a two-hour guided walk along the city's waterfront that ends with a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the lagoons' eco-system on Easter Monday.

image credit: MARIO BARTEL/NEWSLEADER

On Easter Monday Mike Hoyer is leading a free guided walk along New Westminster's waterfront all the way to Venice.

No, participants won't be trudging 8637 km over mountains and across oceans to the romantic Italian port city that's more in the Adriatic Sea than alongside it.

Hoyer's two-hour stroll ends at the faux Venice at the west end of Westminster Quay.

While the glimpses of wildlife, movement of machines and passing of industry along the Fraser River intrigues visitors to the waterfront, it's the canals and lagoons that weave around and amidst a cluster of condos and townhomes that enchants them, said Hoyer, a longtime volunteer at the Fraser River Discovery Centre.

But those lagoons are more than decorative tubs of water and fountains. They're an eco-system unto themselves, said Hoyer.

They're also a bit of an engineering marvel, said Virginia Cohen, who manages the lagoon system for the six stratas that own it.

The entire system is self-contained, said Cohen. Half a million gallons of water flows through a series of weirs from the system's highest point just off Renaissance Square to its lowest, the reflection pond between the Lido and Rialto condos. From there the water is pumped back up to the top to start its journey anew.

"It's totally gravity-fed," said Cohen. "It's basically a natural body of water."

See the rest here:

New West's faux Venice it's own little eco-system