The Metchosin School Museum will be receiving much-needed improvements thanks to a Heritage BC grant.
The museum society was awarded a grant of $13,600 to cover construction costs at the museum through the government’s Heritage Legacy Fund.
READ ALSO: METCHOSIN’S PAST: Time for a quick history lesson
“The museum is one of the few school museums in the province,” said Jim Macpherson, vice-president of the Metchosin Museum Society. In fact, it was of the first B.C. schools built after Confederation, he added. And it has been maintained as such.
“It’s one of the few places in the province where there is a museum that focuses on the schooling and education of children 100 years ago…there are so many people who have been here for generations, it’s not just a matter of history, it’s a matter of connection.”
But with time the building has developed a number of foundation issues. The grant will help the museum society pay for drainage improvements around the school foundation, damp-proofing and ground-sealing in the crawl space and insulation and floor joist repairs.
“Under the school there is very high humidity,” Macpherson said. “There is dry rot appearing and all of that has to be dealt with.”
The upgrades come ahead of the museum’s conservation plan, which will outline a range of priorities in the coming years. But Macpherson said, “much of that would be pointless if the foundation and drainage are not addressed first.”
READ ALSO: A brief history of the Metchosin Museum Society
The society will cover any and all costs above the $13,600 allotted by the grant.
Construction will begin in fall and until October, the Metchosin School Museum will be open to the public on Saturdays from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. and on Sundays 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
nina.grossman@blackpress.ca
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