It could have been a housing development, but this Bellingham park now has a magical name
Bellingham’s newest park will have a magical name inspired by one of the most beloved characters in children’s literature.
In a 7-0 vote Monday night, Sept. 12, the Bellingham City Council officially approved the name Hundred Acre Wood for land called the Chuckanut Community Forest that the city bought for $8.2 million in 2011 to thwart a proposed development of nearly 1,500 homes.
But the forested area south of Fairhaven Park has been known colloquially for decades as the Hundred Acre Wood, made famous as the fictional home of Winnie-the-Pooh, Piglet and Eeyore in the stories of A.A. Milne.
It was the nearly unanimous choice of Bellingham residents in a recent survey of possible park names.
“Based on some of the emails we’ve received, I’d really hate to disappoint little children out there from the magical aspect of thinking they’re walking in Winnie-the-Pooh’s forest,” Councilwoman Lisa Anderson said during a Parks and Recreation Committee meeting Monday afternoon.
Mayor Seth Fleetwood called it an “enormously important” project for the entire community.
“There are a lot of people in our community that have been fighting for this project for a long, long time,” Fleetwood told the committee.
South Bellingham residents formed a special taxing district to repay the city.
Originally an 82-acre tract, recent purchases have increased the park’s size to 112 acres, and it’s crisscrossed with some 5 miles of trails created by residents over the years.
Also on Monday, the council voted unanimously to approve a park master plan, which will allow bicycles and leashed dogs.
Several trails will be closed and allowed to return to their natural state, while others will be improved in an effort to protect wetlands and other sensitive areas.
Directional signs will be added for improved “wayfinding,” Parks and Recreation Department Director Nicole Oliver told the council.
