In this edition :
- Winter in the Park
- Upcoming Events
- Call for Volunteers
WINTER IN THE PARK
The popular BackCountry Film Festival that we recently hosted presented a range of exciting ski adventures from Alaska to Slovenia, but in our own back yard we also have excellent opportunities for enjoying the snow in stunning alpine surroundings. With the snow base at 1100m now above the 2 metre mark, the terrain below the tree line in on the Plateau beyond Battleship and Helen MacKenzie offers lots of backcountry snowshoe destinations — e.g. Kooso Lake, Lady Lake, Croteau .
And up in the Alpine , a recent expedition by a couple of our Directors and friend across the Augerpoint Traverse shows what fabulous scenery Strathcona Park offers, such as in the area of Ruth Masters Lake in the photo below. Photos courtesy John Waters.
And although there have been warmer as well as colder spells over the past month, we are still very much in winter mode. On February 2nd there was a mix of sun and cloud. Van Isle Violet, our resident “groundhog”, may or may not have seen her shadow from the Tony Barrett Marmot Recovery Centre on Mt Washington – she was “rudely” disturbed from her cosy hibernaculum for a little health check, but was clearly determined that she was not going to emerge from hibernation for another three months at least. There will likely still be snow cover in Paradise Meadows well into May.
UPCOMING EVENTS
March 31st - VIMFF SHOW
SWI is thrilled to bring back the Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival – its 26th Annual Tour – after a 3-year hiatus. The program as usual features some of the best thought-provoking and action-packed mountain films, running the gamut of climbing, snow-sports, biking, the environment and more!
DETAILS:
Date: March 31st, 2023
Time: 7pm – 9:30pm, (Doors Open 6:30pm)
Location: Stan Hagen Theatre, North Island College, Courtenay
Tickets: Adults $25, Youth (16 & Under) $15.
For more information see SWI Website: strathconapark.org
and the VIMFF website : vimff.org
TICKETS are available through Eventbrite Ticket Sales here.
TICKETS will also be available at the door if not sold out – CASH ONLY.
SWI ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
April 12th 7-9 pm
Registration link for this GoToWebinar “virtual” Meeting:
https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/7358164239408314205
We will hold our 2023 AGM as an electronic meeting again this year (we hope for the last time). We cordially invite all our supporters to attend; there is no cost, but please pre-register using the link above.
Strathcona Wilderness Institute is a not-for-profit organization whose essential role is, in partnership with BC Parks, to serve as an interface between the Strathcona Wilderness and the general public. We are a non-membership society, and so we invite members of the public with an interest in Strathcona Provincial Park to attend our AGM, since its purpose is to present our Annual Report to the public, as well as to elect the Board of Directors for the coming year.
With our mission to inspire awareness, appreciation and stewardship of the Natural World through research, education and participation, we schedule interpretive hikes and workshops, and oversee research projects in the Park, including the SWI Data Collection Project on iNaturalist. We also provide the Public with information about the Park at our two “huts” each summer in Strathcona Provincial Park, at the Paradise Meadows Trailhead and at Buttle Lake. All our activities are carried out by VOLUNTEERS and SUMMER STUDENTS (funded through the Canada Summer Jobs program).
So we especially invite former and potential volunteers to attend the AGM and learn more about SWI’s work, accomplishments and plans for the upcoming year. We always need volunteers to staff our visitor centres and participate in our educational programs, thus ensuring the continuation of what we have achieved in the past. Please put your names forward! Anyone who loves Strathcona Park and would like to contribute a little of their time to the organization of SWI’s many activities should consider becoming a director. Nominations can be made from the “floor”.
For more information about the AGM please feel free to contact us: strathconawilderness@gmail.com You can download PDFs of the 2023 Agenda and the 2022 Minutes from the Events page on our Website.
FIRST CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS
Although the summer season is still a few months away ( according to Van Isle Violet) we are updating our lists of volunteers who have staffed the Wilderness Centre at Paradise Meadows, or the Buttle Hut. We will also be reaching out to those who have led hikes and interpretive walks in past, pre COVID years. We did successfully return to scheduling interpretive walks and hikes last year, with limited numbers and observing proper protocols and will continue this summer with the same caution overall.
Those of you who have volunteered for us before will be pestered shortly by our Outreach and Volunteer coordinator, Jaron Piercy. Your help in past years has been greatly appreciated. Please consider volunteering again. We will also contact those who have recently signed up through our online Volunteer Application Form and of course welcome any of you who would like to join the team for the first time.
If you are familiar with the area and enjoy meeting visitors from near and far, staffing the Wilderness Centre can be a rewarding experience. We hope to have a student at the Centre through the Canada Summer Jobs program, but on the busiest days in July and August, when 200+ people may pass through the Centre, we do always need extra hands. And if you prefer something a bit more isolated, the Buttle hut at the north end of Westmin Road sees many visitors, particularly from overseas, in search of the Parks wilderness areas.
For those who are active hikers and/or naturalists familiar with Park trails, volunteer leaders are always welcome. Whether your interests are botany, geology, ornithology , or just the love of Strathcona, we would welcome your participation in our programs. There are lots of destinations to chose from on the Plateau starting from Paradise Meadows. This year we would especially like to promote Park trails on the west side of the Park, so there will be opportunities for volunteers both to staff the Information Hut at Buttle Lake, as well as to guide nature walks and hikes in that area.
In addition we would like to draw special attention to the possibility of volunteering as a Sherpa for our TrailRider program. SWI makes available the TrailRider that belongs to BC Parks as part of our ongoing promotion of Accessibility in the Park. General information about the TrailRider can be found on our Website under Mobility Devices and TrailRider.
The TrailRider requires a minimum of two able-bodied individuals to propel the device, one at the front one at the rear. In practice at least four are recommended to spell each other, especially over steeper sections of trails. The Trail to Battleship Lake from Paradise Meadows has boardwalk and ramps specially designed to accommodate the single central wheel of the TrailRider.
Volunteers need to be in good physical shape, and with a little hands-on practice can learn to manipulate the TrailRider on the Trails. Ideally a training workshop would help, and we will schedule one with the help of some of our veteran sherpas if we have 4-5 volunteers sign up. So, if you are an avid hiker or runner in good physical condition, love the Park and would like to offer those who have mobility issues the opportunity to enjoy all that attracts you to the amazing trails Strathcona had to offer, do consider joining our cohort of volunteer Sherpas.
Please note that SWI does offer all volunteers a reimbursement towards travel costs up to Paradise Meadows or over to Buttle Lake. In addition, volunteers are given a discount on our publications & merchandise and are entitled to a reduced registration fee for our Workshops.
For more information please contact us:
Volunteer Coordinator: coordinator.swi@gmail.com
SWI general information: strathconawilderness@gmail.com
TWO FINAL IMAGES
Temperature fluctuations may have caused some problems with trails in the Park and provoked extreme avalanche conditions in some parts of the Province. However, they can also result in amazing ice formations, as captured by expert photographer Tim Penney:
Sign Up for Email Mailing List Below!
If you would like to receive our E-Newsletter automatically to your email please fill enter your email address below.
