We were all greatly saddened to learn that on December 4th Steve Smith, prominent founding director of SWI, had passed away. Earlier in the summer Steve (together with other founding directors) was guest of honour at SWI’s 30th Anniversary Celebration. Without his inspiration and tireless dedication to educating the public about Strathcona Provincial Park, SWI would not have existed. Steve will always be remembered for his big smile, his wit, his songs and his love of Strathcona Park.

Steve grew up in Nottingham, England, nurturing his passion for the outdoors and especially mountain environments through climbing in the Peak District of northern England and the Cairngorms and Cuillin of Scotland. He first came to Canada in 1971 as member of a climbing expedition to Baffin Island with Doug Scott (renowned British mountaineer) and Rob Wood (originally also from England, another of our founding directors, also originally from England). Encouraged by Rob Wood to immigrate to Canada, he came to BC in 1977 to become an instructor in the COLT programme at Strathcona Park Lodge where Rob worked. After a spell in the early 1980s in Golden (where he met his lifetime partner Marlene), he returned to Vancouver Island and became active again at SPL not only in their educational programmes, but also continuing the work he started in Golden, outdoors programmes for troubled youth.

Along with Marlene, he was one of the founders of Friends of Strathcona Park in 1986 in the wake of impending changes to the Park’s boundaries and reclassifications that would facilitate logging and mining operations within it. In 1988 the “Friends” staged one of the first major environmental blockades in BC in order to prevent Cream Silver Mines from carrying out their planned operations, attracting the involvement of luminaries such as David Suzuki. Steve was front and centre along with Marlene, Ruth Masters, Melda Buchanan, Kel Kelly and hundreds of other peaceful protestors. While the development of the Strathcona Park Master Plan was an official outcome of the protest, Steve and members of FOSP realized that it was crucial to ensure that the general public knew about the incredible biodiversity of the wilderness areas within the Park and the importance of protecting them. So emerging from a conference held in 1993 “Where the Wild Things Are” came the resolution to form a Society whose mandate was to educate people about the Park.

Spearheaded by Steve, Strathcona Wilderness Institute came into being in 1995, under the guidance of Les Carter’s legal expertise and with a board that included the skills of naturalist Betty Brooks, architect and outdoors educator Rob Wood, and consummate “organizer” Peggy Carswell. Steve would remain a director for 21 years overseeing the establishment of the core guided walks, hikes, workshops and courses, all led by Volunteers, providing the public with naturalist programmes no longer offered by BC Parks. In 2000 he established volunteer-run information booths out of a Nordic “warming hut” at the Paradise Meadows and a former ranger cabin at Buttle “because no one else would do it”. Over the next ten years he worked selflessly and tirelessly to garner the bureaucratic permission and financial backing for the realization of his dream of an appropriate structure for the Institute, the Strathcona Park Wilderness Centre, designed by Rob Wood, and eventually completed in 2011 on the Parks 100th anniversary. Numerous volunteers, supporters and donors were involved in this project, too many to name, but we will mention Marlene, though deeply involved in FOSP (as well as her veterinary practice) standing staunchly at Steve’s side throughout. This building has remained the principal locus of SWI’s activities in the Park.

Without Steve, SWI as we know it today, and the Wilderness Centre, would not exist. We are immeasurably indebted to him, and it was a privilege for all of us to see him at the 30th Anniversary gathering held this past July.