2009 Community Stewardship Award - Recipients

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Sustaining the Islands – Community Stewardship Awards Program 
 
 
 
2009 Recipient Profile 
 
Nominee: Hornby Island Residents' and Ratepayers' Association (HIRRA) Trails 
Committee, Hornby Island 
 
Category:  Organization/Group 
 
Project:  Hornby Island Non-Motorized Trails Network  
 
Nominator(s): Kurt and Eva Wetzel 
 
Letters of Support: N/A 
 
Project Description:   The Hornby Island Residents’ and Ratepayers’ Association (HIRRA) 
Trails Committee was established in 2001. As a member of the Trails Committee since its 
inception, Andrew Carmichael has been a prime mover of the initiative and currently serves as 
chair of the Trails Committee. Andrew and other Trails Committee volunteers have fundraised, 
built, and maintained trails along many Hornby Island roads, including St. John’s Point Road 
and Central Road, and upgraded the Seadollar Road path to allow use by bicyclists, walkers, 
and joggers in all seasons. The process used by the Trails Committee to plan the recent St. 
John’s Point Road trail has been highly participatory and community-based – local residents 
and landowners had opportunity to voice their opinions, make suggestions, and shape trail 
design through public HIRRA meetings and on-site visits. The Trails Committee also consulted 
with Jan Bevan, an island authority on native plants.  
  

Sustaining the Islands – Community Stewardship Awards Program 
 
 
 
2009 Recipient Profile 
 
Nominee:  Salt Spring Island Conservancy 
 
Category:  Organization/Group 
 
Project:  Stewards in Training School Program 
 
Nominator(s): Fernwood School Staff and Students 
 
Letters of Support: N/A 
 
Project Description:   The Stewards in Training School Program was started by SSI 
Conservancy six years ago. The program provides 700 elementary and middle school students 
on Salt Spring Island with an all-day nature field trip each year to a location of special ecological 
interest – including Ford Lake, Burgoyne Bay, Cusheon Cove, and the Andreas Vogt Nature 
Reserve. By the time students complete middle school, they have participated in a total of 8 
nature field trips. Organized by Conservancy School Coordinators and delivered and taught by 
over 50 volunteers, the field trips are free of cost to students and staff. Conservancy 
coordinators visit each class prior to the field trip to prepare students, lead hands-on learning 
activities during the field trip, and revisit classes afterwards to reinforce learning. Exemplifying 
the effectiveness of place-based learning, the program provides Salt Spring Island students with 
an opportunity to spend time in nature and fosters a sense of stewardship, curiosity, and wonder 
for the natural environment that will become a part of the fabric of values they take forward as 
individuals, citizens, and eventually parents.  
 
 
 
 
 
  

 
 
Sustaining the Islands – Community Stewardship Awards Program 
 
 
 
2009 Recipient Profile 
 
Nominee:  Kelsey Mech, Salt Spring Island  
 
Category:  Ind

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