Second Nature Program

Nancy was awarded the Community Stewardship award for her tireless leadership and commitment to the Banff Child Care Centre. Nancy dedicates countless hours to the Centre as a Board Member, but her efforts have gone well beyond what is normally expected. She has filled the role of confident, advisor, comforter, coach, and supporter to the staff and especially to the members of the management team. Nancy's efforts have helped the struggling Centre to re-build their staff team; refurbish the building, improve funding, and receive accreditation. The Executive Director of the Center describes her as, "the biggest chocolate chip in the cookie of our life at the daycare centre."

Simon's efforts have resulted in numerous subtle and not-so-subtle changes to the way that waste and energy management occur at our Kuskanax Lodge and it has meant a significant reduction in the amounts of waste going to the land-fill in Nakusp. All kitchen waste (about 500 – 600 lbs per week) is composted at a local farm and this is sowing the seeds for a community approach to recycling and composting.

CMH fish suppliers used styrofoam cartons to transport fresh fish to our lodges resulting in large amounts of non-recyclable styrofoam, which had to be picked up and disposed of at landfill sites. Seeing the volume of waste, Rick encouraged fish suppliers to ship in reusable blue plastic boxes. A simple but effective change.

Rick then went on to implement the same initiative with our Invermere-based bread supplier, requiring them to use foldable boxes. The boxes are returned to, and reused by the supplier, eliminating waste on our end and lowering costs for both parties.

Marc has spent vast amounts of time in the Bugaboos, as a CMH guide, recreational climber, photographer and writer. Noticing the negative impact of increasing visitors to the area, he established the Friends of Bugaboo Park (FOBP): a grass roots collective set up to preserve the natural and recreational qualities of the area. To overcome political challenges, Marc has forged relationships with BC Parks, the Alpine Club of Canada, a local climbing club, volunteers, and CMH, bringing them together under the umbrella of the Friends organization to work collectively on stewardship projects.

Patty is a founding member of the Bow Valley SPCA. From 1999 - 2006, her volunteer work focused on raising funds to build a no-kill, no-cage adoption centre for abandoned dogs and cats in the Bow Valley. The facility is a first in Canada. Colleagues at the SPCA estimate that Patty contributed 1200 hours toward her labour of love raising thousands of dollars along the way, and educating many people about the goals and objectives of the SPCA.

Rob developed a fuel tank sensor system that allows us to electronically monitor fuel levels in our remote tanks. Changes in fuel levels are now detected immediately, allowing us to minimize potential impacts from fuel spills or leaks. As well, we are able maintain accurate and timely inventories as required for our safety and maintenance programs.

For almost 10 years Buck had been a loyal supporter of the Adventurer's Summer Day Camp program in Revelstoke, BC. This program provides locals kids in need with the opportunity to attend the week-long summer camp. Buck encouraged his team of guides, pilots, and staff to make a weekly donation to this important cause.

Jim made great efforts to reduce the amount of fuel consumed by the lodge's generators. He experimented with decreasing the use of energy at non-peak times to reduce the demand on the diesel generator. By tracking energy consumption, he was able to see direct impact and develop practices to sustain these energy reductions.

Fran (Relief Office Support in Banff) and Lloyd (CMH Guide, Summer and Winter) received the award for their involvement with the Mountain Haven Project, a retreat program that gets women and children living in shelters out into the mountains.

Hank initiated a project to clean up an old abandoned mine site in the Graham Creek area north of Revelstoke in 2002. He recruited an alliance of businesses and agencies to pay for and conduct the cleanup.

With an investment of $400 in recycled materials, Duane built a composting system that transformed 100 lbs of garbage per day into a partial pick-up truck-load of rich compost by the end of the winter. With a number of modifications, Duane's original design has evolved significantly and we have built composters at the Bugaboo and Cariboo Lodges with plans to add more at other locations.