Strathcona Park Institute Offers Weekend Programs

In spite of the provincial government’s huge cuts to parks funding and staff, along with the annihilation of all park’s interpretive programs, (including the Trail Host Program), summer visitors to Strathcona Park can at least be assured of a weekend (Saturday and Sunday mornings) interpretive walk in Paradise Meadows and some basic park information.

Strathcona Wilderness Institute was awarded a small grant from BC Parks to help with their efforts to provide visitors with basic park information. thanks to this they are again offering this popular visitors service (10am ~ 4pm) which is based out of a small trail head hut, again kindly loaned by the Nordic Ski Club and moved into position by Mount Washington Resort’s maintenance staff. This year they are hoping to increase the opening hours to include Mondays and Fridays.

These summer weekend programs will be held through the summer to the September 2nd, Labour Day weekend. To add more variety and subject matter, special guests (local experts) will be leading some of the Sunday morning walks. Anyone interested in learning more about the natural world is welcome. Again this year the institute is requesting $2.00 per person ($5.00 per family), which helps the financial burden. Volunteers, who are familiar with the area, are always welcome to help at the information hut, especially during week days throughout the summer. This summer our goal is to begin work on a self-guided interpretive walk in Paradise Meadows with the help of a brochure and numbered stations.

The Institute is also continuing the weekend information service at Buttle Lake (200 yards past the Gold River turn-off). This is basically a voluntary service, thanks to Gerry Roberts. The hours will be: Fridays: 3-9pm (or dusk), Saturdays: 10am-6pm, Sundays: 10am-4pm. This public service operates until Labour Day in September.

As a non-profit society, the Institute continues to facilitate a co-operative effort to assure support for continuing education, information and park stewardship. They are always looking for more directors in order to keep the organization running. The goal is that a successful fund-raising activity will enable them, in the near future, to employ a part-time executive director.

If you are interested in supporting SWI, in any way, please phone and leave a message at 337-1871 or e-mail: swi@island.net. You can also visit our website: www.island.net/~swi/.