Duke Residence, 1140 Tattersal Dr.
Dr. Valentine Duke ( 1848-1925) and his wife Mary ( 1861-1954)
both from Ireland , were the original owners of the Duke residence. Dr. Duke
had worked for the Penisular and Oriental Steamship line as the ship’s
surgeon and lived in Ceylon for 30 years before retiring to Victoria in 1912.
In 1930 his daughter Ruby Emily and her husband Richard Snape became the
owners of the property, and in 1952 they converted it into apartments.
The Duke mansion was designed by Victoria architect H.J. Rous Cullin and
is an example of the British Arts and Crafts Tudor revival style. The large
verandah with a granite foundation was filled in, but the original woodwork
and leaded windows have been maintained.
As many of us know, many pollinators are under threat from habitat loss, pesticide, and disease. Sometimes it can seem a daunting task to find ways to help these vital insects, but one way to help may be to provide homes for our solitary bees known as Mason Bees. Many people are buying or making ‘Bee Hotels’. One great thing about this is that you can do this without even having a garden. A wall or a fence on which to mount the hotel will work also.
Apart from a small number of bees, most of the holes were not used. Researching further, I have discovered that most mason bees prefer the smaller holes; those large holes are just too much work for these Queens. That’s a lot of space to fill with mud when you don’t have worker bees to help out! Ever hopeful, we tried making some of the holes smaller by adding straws in some holes, but there was minimal interest. It appears the bees voted with their wings and took their eggs elsewhere. 
After a long journey that began in 2006, we are delighted that on February 3rd 2020 Saanich Council directed staff to report how to achieve Cecelia Creek Falls Park as envisioned in the concept plan. The project supports Saanich’s OCP vision for Environmental Integrity “Saanich restores and protects air, land and water quality, the biodiversity of existing natural areas and eco-systems, the network of natural areas, open spaces and urban forests.”