Summer 2009 - Elders Council for Parks

NEWSLET TER No. 3
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Summer 2009
Elders Council for Parks
in British Columbia
Elders Council continues to press the provincial
government to better manage and fund BC Parks
River Boulders, Capilano River Regional Park, by Lawrence Hislop
The Elders Council continues their volunteer effort
to ensure that BC’s national, provincial and regional
park systems receive the government support and
public profile they justly deserve. We are fortunate in
this province to have access to majestic wilderness,
great camping and regional trails and greenways that
are some of the finest in the world. As Elders, we are
grateful to have spent a lifetime of work in these magnificent landscapes doing what we love and cherish.
Our current efforts focus on encouraging the
provincial and federal governments to celebrate the
2011 Centennial of BC Parks and the 100th anniversary
of the National Parks Branch, respectively; holding
regular meetings with senior and elected people
within the BC government to ensure a stable future
for BC Parks; establishing the Heritage Centre in North
Vancouver in cooperation with BC Nature; conducting park education programs through the excellent
services of WildEd; gathering archive material, recording park history and holding regular forums.
The Elders Council was established to help
ensure the well-being of BC’s park systems through
education, bringing together the history of these
systems, thanking our pioneers and working
with various levels of government to help them
understand the value of the ecosystems they are
protecting and the legacy that these parks provide
for the future. We are totally volunteer in nature,
so we can only achieve our goals with your help.
Please, if you are settled into retirement, have
some time on your hands and want to support
those systems that supported you during your
career, contact us – and we can figure out a role
that you can play that will contribute to the future
of BC’s park systems. And remember you can join
the Elders Council for free, just register your name
on our website.
In closing, I want to thank Breeonne Baxter at
CPAWS-BC for her excellent work in recently upgrading our website. Check it out!
–Bob Peart
Ensuring the well-being of BC’s parks
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Parks Centennial in 2011
by Derek Thompson
We believe that the Centennial is a critical opportunity for everyone
in BC to celebrate the past and prepare for the future. Ultimately,
planning for this is the responsibility of Government, but it is a
celebration in which all of us have a keen interest. Since 2011 is rapidly
approaching the Council has been actively engaged in our own
preparations as well as in meeting with Ministry staff to encourage
them to formally prepare for what we feel ought to be a series of
events involving every community in the Province.
This is what we have done so far. First, as many of you know
the outstanding efforts of Jim Anderson, who has assembled a
documentation of the historic record. Jim is almost finished! Next, we
have begun, through the work of Rick Searle and his team, what we
hope will be a series of videos which are to be both informative and
celebratory. The first is a very brief introduction to our history and can
be viewed at http://ekoscommunications.com/node/723. This spring,
we completed a video celebrating the values, history and the people
associated with Strathcona Park. This will be released soon. Now we
need funds to complete the next in the series… probably Garibaldi,
Wells Gray, and other historically and regionally significant parks. We
have also given the Ministry an outline of some first ideas of how to
undertake a really first-rate celebration.
This is just a beginning. We believe that the Centennial celebrations in
2011 can be a critical part of renewal in our society. Those celebrations
need to begin in the Olympic Year and continue as a Legacy in the
post-2010 period. In our vision the Parks and Protected Areas in BC are
public assets which are the cornerstones of societal goals for healthy
people, vibrant communities and a globally significant natural (and
human) heritage. We need your ideas and support. Tell us your ideas
for a celebration. Tell us what you can do to help. Write to us at info@
eldersouncilforparks.org.
Park Pioneer Profiles
Leaders Behind the Parks in BC
In 2004 and 2006, the Elders Council for Parks in British Columbia
honoured some of the individuals who, during the mid-to-late-20th
century, envisioned and constructed BC’s renowned park systems.
In 2008, we complied the first in a series of profiles to celebratethe
personalities and accomplishments of these 25 park builders and park
pioneers.
Parks are supported by the efforts of countless individuals, but there
are some whose work stands out as exemplary. They are the leaders,
planners and managers who remind us that if we want to keep natural
wildernesses intact in BC, we must work to protect them.
The Park Pioneers Profiles are available on the Elders Council website:
http://www.elderscouncilforparks.org/profiles/.
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Ensuring the well-being of BC’s parks
Fall Marine
Forum
In the fall
of 2009, the
Elders Council
is planning a
Marine Forum
to discuss
Steller Sea Lion by
Duane Fuerter
the history of
marine parks in British Columbia,
and of future marine parks
advocacy projects.
Check out the Elders Council
website for updates on the Marine
Forum!
The Elders Council
for Parks in
British Columbia
Steering Committee
Bob Peart, Secretary
Colin Campbell, Treasurer
Derek Thompson
Mel Turner
Ric Careless
Rick Searle
Contact the Elders Council
410 - 698 Seymour St.
Vancouver, BC V6B 3K6
Tel: 604-685-7445 ext. 23
Fax: 604-629-8532
E-mail
info@elderscouncilforparks.org
Web
www.elderscouncilforparks.org
Contributors
Breeonne Baxter
Chloe O’Loughlin
Bob Peart
Derek Thompson
Photography
Megan Baker
Duane Fuerter
Lawrence Hislop
Jason Puddifoot
Bev Ramey
Design
Breeonne Baxter
Roger Handling
Terra Firma Digital Arts
The Heritage Centre – A Place in Nature
In 2005, the Elders Council for Parks in British
Columbia struck an agreement with BC Parks to
establish a Heritage Centre in the old ranger station
at the entrance to Mount Seymour Provincial Park,
one of only two ranger stations in BC’s provincial
park system.
In early 2007, WildED, the BC Spaces for Nature
Wilderness Education Program, entered a partnership agreement with the Elders Council to conduct
educational programming at the Heritage Centre
for schoolchildren to learn about the significance of
parks and nature. A year later, in April 2008, BC Nature and the Elders Council established a cooperative agreement to work together to deliver programs
in the Heritage Centre, surrounded by cedars, hemlocks and a multitude of native species.
The Heritage Centre is dedicated to providing public education on why regional, provincial, national
and international parks are important to society,
how they are created, and how they are managed.
The Elders Council welcomes Lara Tisseur as Executive Coordinator, working out of the Heritage Centre.
Lara has been with the Centre for several months,
and her assistance to the Elders Council has been
invaluable.
The centre serves as the staging ground for numerous educational and interpretive programs designed
to carry out the Elders Council’s objectives.
For more information on WildED, the BC Spaces for
Nature Wilderness Education Program, please visit
http://www.wilded.org.
Find us at the Heritage Centre
1620 Mt. Seymour Rd.
North Vancouver, BC V7G 2R9
A big thank you to Harold Eidsvik –
after a few years of volunteering for
the Elders Council and providing his
excellent advice, Hal has decided to
spend more time golfing, gardening
and spending time with family.
Thanks, Hal, for all your past help.
The Heritage Centre at Mount Seymour Provincial Park, by Bev Ramey
Stay Up-To-Date with
the Elders Council
Website!
Elders Council Archives:
A Slice of BC’s History
The Elders Council website is
an excellent resource for those
interested in the history of BC’s
park system.
The website has videos and
photographs, information about
our projects, minutes from
our meetings, and news about
upcoming events. The website is a
one-stop information resource!
www.elderscouncilforparks.org
Do you have old park maps,
reports or files? We want them for
our archives!
The Elders Council has an
agreement with the University of
Victoria Library, under which any
historical information forwarded
to us will be protected under the
strictest archival procedures.
To contact us, please e-mail
archives@elderscouncilforparks.org.
Helmeken Falls, Wells Gray Provincial
Park, by Megan Baker
Ensuring the well-being of BC’s parks
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Planned Giving
A planned gift is a very individual decision that
considers your giving objectives while maximizing
tax advantages and estate planning benefits of the
gift. Your gift may be immediate, or a future gift
arranged now and received by the Elders Council in
the future. Many friends and supporters of the Elders
Council have discovered that planned giving can
make a huge difference in the conservation of BC’s
parks and protected areas.
Planned giving can help you give a larger gift than
you ever imagined. You can create your gifts in many
ways: gifts of cash, securities, property, life insurance,
retirement plans, donor advised funds, will bequests,
charitable remainder trusts, and charitable gift
annuities. We also encourage you to support others
who care about parks. There are many organizations,
such as the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society,
Western Canada Wilderness Committee, Sierra Club
BC and others, who work diligently to ensure that our
parks and wilderness are valued and well managed.
Please support them through planned giving.
The Elders Council’s role is to assist you and your
advisor to achieve your giving objectives in the most
effective way, based on your personal priorities.
Please contact Chloe O’Loughlin at 604-685-7445.
The Towers, Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park,
by Jason Puddifoot
Please join the Elders Council
Membership is free! Just register
 YES, I want to become a member and have my name added to the mailing list. (Membership is free.)
Here is my donation to CPAWS of: $35
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Please write “For the Elders Council” on the memo line of the cheque. Donations to CPAWS of $20
or more will receive a tax receipt.
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Ensuring the well-being of BC’s parks
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