Creston, BC, is a town of just over 5,000 people in southeastern region of BC, on the unceded ancestral territory of the Ktunaxa Nation, located on the Crowsnest Highway between Cranbrook and Castlegar, an area producing the largest cherries grown in the northern hemisphere, which are exported globally. The area is known for its temperate climate, beauty and wide open, sunny, mountainous valley.

When COVID-19 hit, the local CAPC program, part of the East Kootenay CAPC Coalition, hosted by Valley Community Services Society, and run out of Creston Valley Family Place Neighbourhood House, developed an idea to combine exploration of the local area, healthy activity, and safe socialization for their participant families. In partnership with the Creston branch of Wildsight, an organization formed to protect biodiversity and encourage sustainable communities in Canada’s Columbia and Rocky Mountain regions, they began running monthly Nature Walks designed for families with children aged 0-6.

The two organizations worked together to create short, child-friendly, nature walks specifically designed to encourage ‘child-led’ encounters with the natural world that would make the children enthusiastic to repeat the experience. An example would be the Summit Creek Park walk in April, 2021. In order to meet COVID-19 safety protocols, advanced registration is required for the walks and numbers are limited. The registration information for this walk included Date/Start Location (for parking)/Address/contact Email for the walk coordinator (from Wildsight)/Link to the Registration Form.

We are doing one walk per month in partnership with Creston Family Place. We are happy to be supporting early years (ages 0-6) programming in the valley. These are short walks to explore the outdoors with your family.

Please register yourself and your child/children in advance for this free program. Space is limited to 10 participants.

COVID-19 safety protocols will be in place for this walk. Adults are required to wear masks at this time.

This walk will take place in the Creston Valley Wildlife Management Area from 10:30-11:30am on Wednesday, April 7, 2021. This is a 1 km loop trail that travels along old growth cedars and cottonwoods. We will meet at the Summit Creek Park parking lot. Bring extra layers, snacks, water and your curiosity.

More Information

Please Note

No toilets on site
Bring water and snacks
Rain or Shine - bring a sunhat, toque, mitts, sweater, rain jacket, boots
Flat, but uneven terrain

We spoke with Vanessa Lozecznik, East Kootenay CAPC Coalition Coordinator, and Vicky Koenig, CAPC Site Coordinator at Creston Valley Family Place Neighbourhood House, about the Outdoor Adventure program. Vicky commented that one of the joys of the walks has been to see how a child will become completely absorbed in a rock or a leaf, and the other children will follow this lead and start their own investigations. Their vantage point close to ground level and encounter with the world as full of new experiences offers insight to the adults with them by allowing the children to set the pace. The facilitators bring ideas and experience to offer where appropriate but there is no set agenda within the walks.

Vanessa commented that the Wildsight program was also a collaboration with Kootenay Gambling Support, who provided a Community Initiative Grant to Wildsight to provide the outdoor program for free to the community and family place. This small grant is available to other communities in British Columbia. They need to connect with their prevention provider at Bcresponsiblegmabling.ca

In partnership with Strong Start, families with children 0-6 can participate in the Outdoor Adventure program, once a week based at local parks. Again, pre-registration is required, and the program includes songs, games, and fun, e.g. searches to find items and plants in red, yellow and green. Up to 8 families can be accommodated in each session.

Spring scavenger hunts for all age groups were hosted by various organizations proving to be a big hit with the community. They have been advertised on the Family Place Facebook page, Creston Community Conversations information Facebook page, the local Juice Fm radio station and various community bulletin boards to widen the reach.

Facilitators post a notice in the park that is the week’s destination, a riddle, a map and instructions to search for a letter. The letters are collected each week to spell a word, which can then be submitted online for a chance to win a prize. The prizes are sponsored by local partnerships. The names of participating families are added to a spinning wheel which spins to choose the winner; that video of the selection process is then posted on the Family Place Facebook page. Vanessa and Vicky commented that there has been great take-up by families for this program, and it is helping families provide safe outdoor fun for their kids during COVID restrictions on socializing.

Vicky noted that some families of toddlers have found the need to plan ahead and pre-register for programs to be a challenge during COVID. They prefer the flexibility of drop-in programming under normal circumstances to be able to work with the energy levels and rest needs of their very young children. The scavenger hunt program has the advantage for families that they can choose their own timing for participating in the activity. She is grateful for the tremendous support from the host agency, Valley Community Services Society, especially around accessing necessary funding sources. Community partnerships, with Wildsight, Strong Start, and community funders, have enabled them to adapt to rapidly changed circumstances and to quickly develop new programming formats. Vicky’s dual role, both with CAPC and with the Creston Family Place Neighbourhood House, has been an asset in moving quickly into new operational modes. She notes the huge advantage of working within a team that is full of creative ideas and practical skills!

As CAPC programs at the Family Place take a break over the summer, the Early Years staff have been looking for family-friendly outdoor activity that families could access with all their children, school-aged as well as younger, and came up with the idea of Creston Playground Warriors in local parks. This was also a way to introduce families to a new park that has just opened in the community. The program will be advertised in the Creston and District Community Complex Leisure Guide.

CRESTON VALLEY PLAYGROUND WARRIORS

Community Wide

Creston Community Park, Canyon Park, Centennial Park, Lister Park, Wynndel Community Park

Re-explore Creston Valley playgrounds with new challenges to become a PLAYGROUND WARRIOR

• Challenges will change every other week at designated parks encouraging different ways of play

• Share your experiences and win prizes for your playground visits (Visit Facebook @KootenayGamblingSupport for more info)

• Helps improve gross motor skills, strength and confidence while learning to use play structures in different ways.

Look for the Playground Warrior sign and follow the instructions to have some family fun! All children will receive a Creston Playground Warrior t-shirt with the playground tour 2021.

July 1 – August 31

Free!

In partnership with Creston Valley Early Years, Creston and District Community Complex and Kootenay Gambling Support

Interview: Creston Valley Family Place Neighbourhood House

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