Advocates turn to self-preservation
A volunteer group that has promoted the expansion of Knox Mountain Park and helped with its upkeep over the years is in danger of dissolving.
Lack of new recruits has imperilled the group and its dwindling membership is largely made up of older people who can no longer do the kind of on-site hands-on work they’ve undertaken in the past.
“We require fresh energy and enthusiasm from people of all walks to continue to lobby the city to protect and respect this special place,” Heather Rice, secretary of the Friends of Knox Mountain Park, said in an appeal this week for new members.
Unless new recruits are found, the Wednesday night annual general meeting of the group will be the society’s last gathering, with formal dissolution proceedings beginning under the B.C. Societies Act.
A second local group focused on conservation, the Myra Canyon Trestle Restoration Society, is also appealing for new members to replace retiring ones. The society has played a key role in restoration of the Myra Canyon portion of the Kettle Valley Railway south of Kelowna, with the restored train trestles and scenic views having become a major tourist attraction.
“Unfortunately, our members are aging, and our membership has dropped significantly since 2008, when the trail was re-opened after the (Okanagan Mountain Park) fire,” the group’s website says in a reference to a massive blaze that destroyed 238 Kelowna homes and 12 of the KVR’s 16 wooden trestles.
For more than two decades, the Friends of Knox Mountain has campaigned for park expansion, helped with the rehabilitation of the area around Kathleen Lake, and assisted in the creation of a full-time park ranger position.
Membership has been declining for a while, Rice says, but recruitment was particularly difficult during the early phases of the pandemic.
After the KVR was decommissioned and the corridor allowed to deteriorate, several people were killed or injured after falling from the rotting trestles. The Myra Canyon Trestle Restoration Society was formed in the early ‘90s with volunteers working to re-deck the railway bridges, remove dangerous rockfalls, shore up tunnels, and add trail amenities such as signage and washrooms.
Many groups have struggled with the effects of a long-term decline in volunteerism. In just three years between 2010 and 2013, the number of Canadians age 15 and older who volunteer an average of 155 hours annually fell from 47% to 44%, Statistics Canada says.
But the decline was most pronounced among people between the ages of 35 and 44, falling to 48% from 54%, Statcan says.
For information and volunteer opportunities with the Friends of Knox Mountain Park, see the group’s Facebook page or visit knoxmountainpark.ca.
For information and volunteer opportunities with the Myra Canyon Trestle Restoration Society, see the group’s Facebook page or visit myratrestles.com.