Amidst these days of uncertainty, the Friends of Kananaskis Country continues to monitor and assess the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on our programs. As always, the health and safety of our volunteers and staff are paramount and will continue to be our primary focus as we do our best to deliver meaningful volunteer and educational opportunities for Albertans to support and experience Kananaskis Country, adapting as needed, and ensuring that the organization continues to thrive.
Our planning for our 2020-21 fiscal year (April 1, 2020-March 31, 2021) aims to keep our organization and programming present and operational, while recognizing and respecting the public health emergency that is affecting us all.
TRAIL CARE PROGRAM OUTLOOK AS OF MAY, 2020
While our volunteer events are on hold until further notice, the Friends staff and Board of Directors are thinking of our committed volunteers and supporters who usually gather in May to kick off the season with the annual Highway 40 Cleanup.
At this time, we are in conversations with Alberta Environment and Parks to understand what additional health and safety and operational protocols we need to develop prior to planning our trail stewardship and educational event programs.
The recently announced stages of re-opening, including vehicle access to parks and public lands, have us cautiously optimistic that we will be able to adapt our Crew Leader training and the structure of our trail care days to deliver a modified volunteer program that meets all Federal and Provincial health and safety requirements related to COVID-19 and mitigates the risk to our staff, volunteers and the public.
As always, we extend our deepest thanks to the volunteers who enable the success of our programs. Trail Stewardship is at the core of everything we do, and we couldn’t do it without you! Last year, you and over 343 dedicated people volunteered 2,414 hours towards improving Kananaskis trails.
As more information becomes available, we will continue to communicate the direction of our 2020 Trail Care season. We look forward to letting you know when we are ready to get back into the field, and wish you and your loved ones all the best during these times.
Nancy Ouimet – Executive Director
Vehicle access to Alberta’s provincial parks and recreation areas is closed