MOUNTAIN VIEW COUNTY - A non-profit society which helps adults with development disabilities enjoy purposeful outdoor work activities, strengthening the health and wellness of participants through peer group engagement while contributing to the community-at-large is proposing to expand into Mountain View County.
A delegation from Venturers Society of Calgary made up of executive director Ed Quiring and associate executive director Mark Hergott appeared before county council at a recent regularly scheduled meeting.
The society’s work is funded primarily by provincial government Persons with Developmental Disabilities (PDD) program, as well as from private acreage work, Alberta Parks contracts, private donations and various paid work performed by participants.
Typical outdoor work includes producing firewood for sale to campgrounds and private customers, as well as woodworking projects. Participants help with fallen tree removal, branch chipping, brush clearing, trail clearing and other such activities.
“We believe that the Mountain View County area can provide us with many more work and recreational opportunities to occupy our crews, and there is a future use and need for the program to locate in the county on a full-time basis,” Quiring said.
“The Venturers Society believes it helps give the participants meaning, and an important sense of service to a community. Venturers help dispel a sense of entitlement, and most participants feel a great purpose to their daily activities.
“The benefit to them (participants) is a sense of purpose, to take pride in what they do and how they contribute to the community. There are friendships established and meeting people in the community and expanding their sense of belonging.”
The Venturers Society currently has bases in Bragg Creek, Kananaskis County, Foothills County, Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park, and Fish Creek Provincial Park.
The society has actually already been active in Mountain View County, with participants recently working at a camp in the Water Valley area and on private property, council heard.
“What we are looking for is partners in the community,” he said. “We provide the participants and staff and equipment, but we need partners in the community to help make this happen.”
The society has already received a $100,000 commitment from the owner of the Cremona-area Heritage Centre towards the development of a Venturers host site base in Mountain View County, council heard.
The base would have water, power, heat, sewage or septic utilities, workshops, sheds for storage and other amenities.
Coun. Greg Harris said, “I think what we heard today is an exciting opportunity for the county. This isn’t a fast-moving project; it’s a step by step process. As we’ve heard, I think the first step is the potential to find a location for a camp (base).
“We have a huge fire risk in our west country and the opportunity to bring in an organization that will help mitigate that risk I think is beyond value.”
Harris made a motion that council “receives the Venturers Society delegation as information and further direct administration to being back a report to council to identify any county land located in the west country that could fit the parameters as presented by the Venturers Society.”
The motion carried unanimously.
