Volunteers dedicated to building and maintaining nature trails and outdoor recreation sites will soon have access to a steady stream of funding for their projects, the B.C. government announced Monday.
The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy announced the creation of a $10-million endowment fund to be managed by the Outdoor Recreation Council of BC.
"The surging interest in outdoor recreation not only continues to put a strain on volunteer organizations and B.C.'s trail networks, but also on local recreation groups that collaborate with provincial agencies, such as Recreation Sites and Trails BC, to manage and maintain these valuable community assets," stated George Heyman, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, following his announcement in Victoria.
The council represents about 70 outdoor recreation clubs and associations that construct and maintain outdoor sites as well as organize public events. However, there are roughly 500 independent recreation organizations with formal agreements with the provincial government to maintain sites and trails across the province, according to the ministry. All such groups will have access to grants from the council’s new endowment.
"The construction and maintenance of a large portion of B.C.'s trails and recreation infrastructure rely on the hard work of hundreds of community-based recreation clubs and thousands of dedicated volunteers," said Louise Pedersen, the council’s executive director.
Pedersen said the council is still in the early stages of determining how the money will be disbursed but the fund will remain in perpetuity, hence grants will be drawn from interest earned on the $10 million.
Pedersen said the vision is to provide grants to volunteers to pay for the likes of trail-making equipment and way-finding signs. Pedersen said it's not yet determined if any money would go to administration of the organizations.
“For far too long, these volunteer groups have struggled to access reliable funding sources for activities, such as ongoing trail maintenance to improve the overall visitor experience and protect the environment,” said Pedersen, whose council member groups oversees roughly 1,700 kilometres of trails.
According to the ministry, the government entity Recreation Sites and Trails BC has a network of more than 635 trails and almost 200 trail networks, representing more than 20,000 kilometres of trails. They're used for hiking, horseback riding, mountain biking, off-road vehicles, cross-country skiing and snowmobiling.
