Planned or recently completed capital projects at Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park (GRPP) will provide visitors with shelter and improved accessibility.
Sunshades and viewing platforms are among the projects underway at the park. According to Carson Duggan, finance and administration assistant at the Glenbow Ranch Park Foundation (GRPF), a sunshade recently built on Bow Bend Trail offers the visitors reprieve from rain and the sun.
“It looks great,” Duggan said. “It fits into the theme of the ranch with the style of the wood used. We’ve had a lot of positive feedback on it.”
Built in memory of late Alberta Premier Jim Prentice, the shelter is designed to look like a traditional farmer’s lean-to and offers lots of seating, Duggan said. The structure was completed this summer.
With recent hot weather and unexpected storms, the sunshade has been put it to good use, she said, and two more – one near the park’s corrals and another near Bears Paw Trail – are planned for the future.
“We’re hoping to get more funding for the other two,” Duggan said. “They’re a big need for the park because of how big and spread out it is.”
Funding for the first sunshade was provided by the Trans Canada Trail and the structure was designed and built by Capital Renovations, Duggan said.
Another upcoming capital project will allow visitors with limited mobility to view GRPP’s pond. Duggan said a platform will be built at the Tiger Lily pond, located on the Tiger Lily Loop trail.
Once constructed, the platform will be accessible for children of all mobility, Duggan said, including those in wheelchairs.
That project is scheduled to begin shortly, and Duggan predicted the platform would be ready for use by late fall.
The platform will be particularly helpful during the park’s Pond Exploration Program – a children’s class where participants find, identify and learn about water creatures. The platform will allow them to get a better view of the pond while protecting the shoreline.
Duggan added Bearspaw Elementary School is contributing to the project.
“They’re helping with the design and interpretive signage of the platform,” she said. “We’ve partnered with Bearspaw Elementary School in the past, and they regularly come out to the park for either the pond program or the archeology program.”
A four-season classroom is also scheduled for construction late this summer, Duggan said, rounding out the park’s slate of projects.
“We’re very excited for this one,” she said.
Currently, school groups visiting GRPP that encounter poor weather use a tent.
“[The classroom] will give us a great space to host schools and deliver our programs regardless of the weather,” she said.
The classroom will also allow the foundation to bring back their monthly Park Talks – a free event where speakers discuss species and nature found at GRPP – which was previously hosted at the Cochrane Public Library.
The project is a “huge undertaking,” she said, and once completed will have a capacity of 50 people.
Kate F. Mackenzie, AirdrieToday.com
Follow me on Twitter @katefmack
