---

Trail Blazing

Playing a key role in a joint project of Active Communities and the Rotary club, Jon spearheaded plans to build 150 metres of wetland trail along Garden Bay Lake. In early September 2008, he offered a bad news/good news update on the project.

Bad news: "We need a permit from the Ministry of Transportation . . . and an environmental assessment."

Good news: After meeting with a Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) parks representative and an environmental consultant, Jon was satisfied that "things are slowly moving ahead."

Bad news: Trails within 30 metres of the lakeshore must have a full environmental review with permission from the Ministry of the Environment. Jon observed, "The irony of this requirement was not lost on the two I met with, since highways can pave a road to within a couple of metres of the lakeshore with no permission from anyone."

Good news: Infrastructure already in place within the 30-metre setback is exempt from environmental review and can be maintained without permission. This would allow for a trail on top of an existing waterline, but as Jon was quick to emphasize, regardless of whether a review is required, "we want to . . . [use] good environmental practices."
 
As a result of Jon's and others' efforts, tentative plans have begun to expand the original project into a wetland park with a loop trail. The SCRD would supply the funds and construct the trails.

Jon summed up the trail initiative this way: "The good news is that the Rotary Club and Active Communities instigated the project, and the SCRD thinks it is great . . . The bad news is that the project . . . will now be done by the SCRD . . . This is not at all a case of the club being squeezed out by the SCRD but rather of us working together on an overall plan to improve recreational opportunities within our community."

We got the ball rolling.
--Jon Paine, Rotary Club of Pender Harbour