President’s Report by Mary Jayne Blackmore

“We are here to play the long game!”

 

Hello Trails Community,

Trails for Creston Valley Society has wrapped up year four. We are gathering momentum and moving into a new year organized, re-energized, and ready to play the long game. We are excited and encouraged that so many in our community are beginning to see the value of what we can build together to make our region a more connected, accessible, and healthy place to live.

A great big thank you to everyone who made it out to the AGM last night and to the board members and volunteers who served for the year. Thank you to the solid core of passionate enthusiasts who have agreed to serve for another year and to the two new members who have taken seats on the board for the upcoming year! I feel proud to live in a community where volunteerism is alive and well!

We are very excited about the Recreation Master Plan which was commissioned through the Joint Services Committee and is in progress right now! We look forward to the opportunities and capacity building that will come out of this planning and public engagement process.

The theme and focus of our AGM was “we need to play the long game.” We have important community partners who are passionate about their projects in the region, but it is Trails for Creston Valley Society which is carrying the vision and pushing towards more connectivity and bigger infrastructure projects.

 

Trails for Creston Valley Society is a valuable community resource and is the only tool in the Central Kootenay Region to develop and support a holistic vision for a connected, accessible, inclusive vision for outdoor recreation from Yahk to Riondel.

 

Without a collective regional vision for greenspaces and water access, organizations end up with high volunteer burnout, competing for limited funds, working in isolation/inadequate support, and projects getting dropped or lost as governments turn over and priorities/funds change.

Each of these “Host” organizations have the ability to hold lands in some capacity for parks and trails for public use. These host organizations are bound by specific mandates and policies of the organizations. They are limited in ability to access funding, community engagement, volunteer support, election cycles, boundaries, and conflicts of interest. While each of them can be supportive partners of a larger vision, none of them has the mandate or capacity to carry a regional vision.

  1. Creston Community Forest Corporation
  2. Creston Valley Wildlife Management Association
  3. 6 Diking Authorities
  4. Regional Districts A, B, C
  5. Town of Creston
  6. Lower Kootenay Band
  7. Lister Community Association
  8. Canyon Community Association
  9. Erickson Community Association
  10. Wynndel Community Association
  11. West Creston Hall Association
  12. Yahk Community Association
  13. Boswell and District Farmer’s Institute, Mackie Beach
  14. Crawford Bay Park
  15. Kuskanook Harbour Society
  16. MOTI
  17. Private Property (with a signed LOO with a responsible party)
  18. FLNRO (Parks, Trails and Rec Sites BC)

 

We are looking at models which are functioning well in other areas, for example, the Shuswap Trails Alliance and the Fernie Trails Alliance. It is evident by the work which has been done by these thriving groups that having a well-established, resilient organization representing the larger vision of a region is vital to the long term capacity and growth of a regional system of parks, greenways and water access.

 

The mechanism of TCVS offers many resources which cannot be provided by any other organization in the region. These include:

  1. Long and short term visioning and planning to reflect residents’ values and goals in a dynamic and evolving culture
  2. Ensure Master Plan priorities are upheld by evolving governments. Governments are subject to high turnover through election cycles, staff and funding priorities, lengthy and expensive studies and planning policies.
  3. Liaising with governments communicating needs and priorities within the community
  4. Grant writing and fundraising through a registered charity and resilient non-profit society to expand capacity and access larger provincial and federal pools of money bringing in outside revenue to reduce load on our rural tax base rather than to continue competing for smaller local resources.
  5. Promoting use and advertising, representing The Valley for regional exposure and networking (eg/ Tourism BC, CBT Trails Symposium, Bike BC, etc)
  6. Promote the expansion of capacity in the region for more access to water and greenways for non-motorized commuting and recreation by understanding and supporting the process of applying for License to Occupy and partnership agreements between government ministries and Host groups.
  7. Connecting with Community: facilitate community consultations, bringing in experts to expand awareness and build support and culture for proper trails use and conflict resolution
  8. Working with a Community Volunteer Coordinator to ensure groups have the person power and community involvement they need at critical times.
  9. Accessing private lands: TCVS is working with private land owners to secure a LOO (license of occupation) which sets out conditions of use for accessing private property and assumes liability for users for a term agreement.
  10. Pooling Assets and Resources between organizations could reduce costs, allow groups to be more effective, and reduce stress and burnout among organizations.
  11. TCVS has mined and acquired a wealth of local knowledge and expertise which is being catalogued in a central cloud hosting system on google and through the website. With high turnover of people in societies and governments, retention and storage of information is an ongoing challenge. A consistent storage and information collection system is vital for long term sustainability and growth.

 

Looking Forward:

How can we ensure we retain these resources in perpetuity?

  • Ownership: Local politicians, partner organizations, and community must understand the value of maintaining this organization long term
  • Sustainability: Designated guaranteed funds from local government and a reliable fundraising model is crucial to have a part time paid person to carry out the mandate and meet the needs of organizations.
  • Succession Planning: To solidify long term resilience of this organization, adoption into a “host” group is needed to ensure continuity in record keeping and reporting.
  • Proposal for a trails alliance model: regions with a functioning trails alliance model have thriving and engaged communities of active trails users working to mitigate user conflicts before they happen.

 

Moving into the future:

Our three-year plan is to establish a proper recreation alliance to service and support the outdoor recreational needs of the region.

Central Kootenay Outdoor Recreation Alliance: CKORA

Rational: CKORA will serve community organizations and clubs who serve, represent, manage and develop outdoor spaces in the Central Kootenays.

Proposed Working Model:

  • A working and advisory board made up representation from key groups and societies,
  • Members, volunteers, and paid contractors to perform labour for projects
  • 1 Part time paid staff person funded jointly by RD A, B, C, and Town of Creston, to Assist and support community organizations in finding the best solution to all of the below potential challenges.

Needs/Challenges of Community Organizations:

  1. Asset Insurance-director’s insurance
  2. Board support: technical training, policy and procedures, succession planning
  3. Office space, website management, social media, record keeping
  4. Liaising/ Communication with local government
  5. Liaising with funders, regional and provincial resources
  6. Volunteer Coordinators/ membership and community outreach
  7. Advertising/ Awareness/ Branding/ Public Relations
  8. Grant writing/ Fundraising
  9. Event Coordination
  10. Connectivity- Communications with other community groups,
  11. Non-motorized access and connector trails connecting/promoting green spaces in the region
  12. Negotiating/ conflict resolution between motorized and non-motorized user groups to benefit all valley residence and visitors

Example of outdoor trails user groups and partners who could be supported through a trails alliance model: (Many more can be added to this list)

  1. Wildsight-Bird Festival
  2. ESTBA
  3. Equestrian Society
  4. Creston Mountain Biking Club
  5. Creston Valley Quad Squad
  6. Creston Snow Mobile Club
  7. TAPS
  8. Paddle and Portage (Private business)
  9. CDSCL
  10. Creston Rotary Club, Creston Valley Rotary Club
  11. Lions Club
  12. Creston Youth Outdoors Society
  13. Wineries
  14. Kootenay Meadows Dairy
  15. Organic farms around the valley

Brainstorm of Questions to ask Community Groups:

  1. Currently, what are the biggest challenges your group faces? What could your board use the most help with?
  2. Do you have an engaged board and strong succession planning model? (How active is your board? How many active board members do you have who do most of the work?)
  3. What are your operational costs?
  4. What is your groups in-kind contribution in a month or year?
  5. Does your group have an expanding vision? (additional infrastructure, major improvements to existing) Can you meet those needs?
  6. What is the interest in your group to be more connected? Would your group support connecting trails throughout your community?
  7. If you had one wish for your group, what would you ask for?