It takes a community: the people that make outdoor recreation possible
Destination BC | Discover Comox Valley | Jarrett Lindal photo
Story Series: It takes a community
In a time when trails, roads, campgrounds, rivers and lakes are busier than ever, it’s important to remember that it takes a community to make fun possible. This story is part of a series of profiles on the people who work behind the scenes in B.C., so you can have that special moment today.
“The diversity of people using recreational assets in this province are as diverse as the landscape of B.C.” Those are the observant words of the Honourable Nathan Cullen, the provincial Minister of State for Lands and Natural Resource Operations.
He’s right. From the farmlands of the Peace River country to the Coast, Columbia and Rocky mountains, from the temperate rainforest to the Okanagan desert, Pacific beaches to the summit of Mount Waddington, the only thing as varied as B.C.’s geography is the people who love it. They are horseback riders and hikers, sea kayakers and four-wheel drivers, sailors and rock climbers, environmentalists and prospectors, snowmobilers and mountain bikers.
But let’s take Cullen’s comment a step further. Recreating outside often feels personal, a relationship between you, maybe a few friends, your chosen mode of transport and nature. But is that accurate? In the beauty of the moment, it’s easy to overlook all the other people who make the experience possible.
Take my favourite mountain bike trail: Thirsty Beaver in Cumberland. Click-clacking across a trestle bridge above its namesake mud-pit, I rarely consider the volunteer trail builders who waded in, hammer in hand. Or the hours of meetings the United Riders of Cumberland executive sat through negotiating a land use agreement with the private landowner. Or the village staff sitting in their office down the hill balancing trail maintenance budgets and the schedule of their trail crew.
Where I see a trail (or river, road or campsite), I’m actually seeing the work of many people, stretching from me in that moment all the way to Minister Cullen, who oversees many of the government departments involved in recreation. By quietly doing their job or passion, all these people make my fun possible. Even if I don’t know they exist.
Their work is more important than ever. As the minister notes, there have never been more people using our recreational infrastructure.
“It’s a fantastic problem to have,” Cullen says. “The pressure on the trails is a reassuring sign about people: in tough circumstances, we head outside.”
But to make sure we don’t love the outdoors to death, all those diverse and disparate parts of the outdoor chain need to work together. The best way to do that is for everyone to better understand all the other roles.
My goal over the next several months is to peel back the layers that make outdoor recreation possible in B.C. Through a series of stories, I will profile many of the different jobs – the advocate, the trail builder, the enforcer, the ranger, etc. – and provide context for how their work enables our pastimes.
There’s no time to lose, so let’s get started. And the best place to begin is at the top with The Minister. Watch out for the next article on Monday.
Ryan Stuart started writing about his adventures as a way to get paid to play. Twenty years later he’s still at it. Look for his name in magazines like Outside, Men’s Journal, Ski Canada, online at Hakai and The Narwhal. When he’s not typing at his home office in Vancouver Island’s Comox Valley, you can find him skiing, hiking, mountain biking, surfing, paddling or fishing somewhere nearby.
