COCHRANE— The Glenbow Ranch Park Foundation announced its newest fundraising effort, the Steward an Acre program, on Friday (Feb. 19).
The campaign allows anyone interested in supporting the Foundation's work in the park to do so through the sponsorship of an acre for $150.
The entire process is done through the website, stewardanacre.ca/. On the website, there is an interactive map, where people can choose the acre they want to sponsor, and at the checkout process, the donor has a chance to name the acre they have chosen.
Once you have chosen and named your acre, you can write a short dedication, or explain why you have chosen to steward a part of the park. When others access the interactive map they will be able to see the name and message the donor has left.
The point of the project is to preserve the sensitive ecosystem, said executive director of the foundation, Sarah Parker, and she hopes those who have sponsored an acre in the park will remain on the pathways in the park and not attempt to access the piece of land.
“They’re not allowed to access their acre and paint a rock and put it down or plant a tree, because the whole point behind our work is conservation of these native grasslands and this sensitive ecosystem,” she said.
Over the past 10 years, the Foundation has been responsible for the construction of the Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park. They provide educational programming, have constructed a viewing platform, keep the park accessible for everyone, conduct vegetation management and more.
The fee lasts for three years, at which point you will be able to choose whether or not to renew your stewardship of the area, or pick a new acre of the park to steward.
The park contains about four per cent, or 3,200 acres, of the native grasslands in the province, and gives residents of Cochrane and Calgary a place to escape to that is void of the bustle of the urban centres which border it.
The unique ecosystem also offers a one-of-a-kind opportunity to provide education about the role it plays in the larger environment that surrounds it.
“Protecting this little sea of grassland in a sea of development is more important than ever,” Parker said.
The Steward an Acre campaign came along at a crucial point in the park’s development. The Glenbow Ranch has seen a 164 per cent increase in visitation over the past year, and the increase of traffic makes the work the Glenbow Ranch Park Foundation does to maintain the fragile grasslands more important than ever.
“One of the things that we hear is once they come out here they fall In love and they keep coming out. Finding a way for people to feel, and know, that they’re making a real, tangible difference in protecting the park and promoting the educational work that we do with kids is, I think, very important to people,” Parker said.
To get involved and steward an acre of your own, visit stewardanacre.ca/.
