Family Day brings life, wildlife to the waterfront
February’s weird weather continued this week with bone-chilling temperatures and huge dumps of snow in the hills surrounding the Okanagan Valley.
As the unusual spring weather gradually subsided, the Sheriff completed one of his favourite e-bike rides along the Kelowna waterfront. No ice. No snow. And the waterfalls in Waterfront Park signalled warmer days ahead.
BTW, last week’s Winter GoByBike Week 2023 had 3,718 riders and 1,106 teams who logged 105,476 kilometres across the province. There was no word on the Sheriff winning any prizes for his two rides.
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In the hills, however, Kelowna Nordic Ski and Snowshoe Club had already raised $40,000 by mid-week for its annual Stride and Glide event today. There were already 75 signed up for the fundraiser for cardiac care at Kelowna General Hospital with 100 participants expected by the weekend.
“We will have a mass start at 10 a.m. for distances of six, 10 or 15 kilometres in both classic and skate,” said Lyle Nicholson with the Kelowna Nordic events team. Club president John Davina will lead a group of classic skiers, and numerous coaches from the master’s classes and Nordic members
have also volunteered to lead groups.
“We invite all members to register for the low price of $20 that provides our new Kelowna Nordic tuque, a lunch of bratwurst with a beer, cider or a soft drink. This is a fundraiser for Kelowna cardiac care, but we invite everyone to join us and donate any amount you can. The main thing is to be back by 12:30 a.m. for lunch, to cheer those who did raise funds and for the prize awards,” said Nicholson.
“This year, Sovereign Lake Nordic Centre is sending a team from their master’s group to join us. One of their members, Gregg Cancade, had open-heart surgery at KGH last year so he knows first-hand how Kelowna cardiac care takes care of our valley.”
It will be the final organized event of the year after the annual Cabin Cookie Tour was cancelled.
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The Trail of the Okanagans
Society will reveal its new logo at 10:30 a.m. on March 4 at the Sncewips Heritage Museum, 260-525 Highway 97 S., located in Okanagan Lake Shopping Centre in West Kelowna.
Members who RSVP can meet the artist and learn more about her design.
“The new logo, designed by Emily Pooley, a Syilx First Nation artist, celebrates the deep links between Syilx culture and the traditional history of the trail,” said Janice Liebe, society president.
The society advocates for a continuous hiking and cycling trail spanning the length of Okanagan Lake and Okanagan River system. The route traces traditional trading routes of the Okanagan First Nations, skirts lake edges, wanders through forests and hillsides, borders vineyards, fruit orchards, witnesses unique landscapes and connects all of the valley communities.
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The Central Okanagan Naturalists’ Club held a successful AGM on Feb. 14 with full results to be published in the next newsletter, including directors’ reports, president’s report and results of the photo contest.
The 2023 executive will be: president Douglas Graham, treasurer Roy Sinden, past president Rick Gee, BC Nature director Fran Fisher, birding director Mike Howard, botany director Peter Courtney, membership director Karen Pedersen, outreach and communications director Marjorie Gonzalez, and outings co-directors Robbie Bowers and Glenda Newman.
Four positions remain unfilled: vice-president, secretary, conservation director and programs director. The executive can add members to those positions if they step forward, said Graham.
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XC BC Championships, Telemark Nordic Centre will host the Biathlon BC U13 Championships on March 10-12. “While this event is a little smaller than the XC Championships, it still needs volunteers to help make it successful. There are lots of great jobs to do including: stadium, course, range prep, range recorder, penalty loop counter and more,” said GM Mike Edwards.
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For the first time in two years, the Friends of the South Slopes Society will hold its annual general meeting with members in attendance 6-9 p.m. on March 29 at the Environmental Education Centre for the Okanagan in Mission Creek Regional Park on Springfield Road in Kelowna.
An information package will be sent to 2022 and 2023 FOSS members prior to the AGM. If you haven’t yet renewed your FOSS membership for 2023, renew online at: foss-kelowna.org by clicking on the ‘membership’ button. If you are one of FOSS’s Adopt A Trail sponsors, your FOSS membership is included in your sponsorship fee.
On Jan. 9, FOSS hosted a volunteer appreciation evening for members of the FOSS Trail Crew at Barn Owl Brewery in Kelowna.
By the numbers: in 2022, the FOSS trail maintenance crew logged 3,400-plus hours. Volunteers with the business sponsors in the Adopt A Trail program added another 371 hours and those in the community program another 547 hours.
“The 30-plus members of the trail crew, all volunteers, enjoyed a selection of Villages pizza and Barn Owl refreshments courtesy of FOSS,” said Milt Stevenson, FOSS trail manager.