Government Funding for the Ann and Sandy Cross Conservation Area
Written by Chad Coughlin, HIGH RIVER ONLINE on Friday, 17 April 2015.
Conservation Area CEO Greg Shyba says the area is mostly run by volunteers who help make sure the trails are marked out clearly and safe for all who walk them. (photo: Chad Coughlin)
Macleod MP John Barlow announced government funding on Thursday, April 16, 2015, for the Ann and Sandy Cross Conservation Area.
The 4,800 acres of rolling foothills land will receive $10,600 for the Hike to Conserve Trails initiative. Barlow says the area offers an experience that is becoming less common in Alberta.
“The Ann and Sandy Cross Conservation Area is really one of the jewels in the Macleod riding and really for all of Alberta,” Barlow says. “This is an opportunity to see unbroken ranch land that’s really becoming a rarity in Alberta. So, for us and the Ann and Sandy Conservation Area to protect this landscape is really something special in Calgary’s back door. It’s really an exciting opportunity for us to improve the infrastructure that is part of the conservation area for people to enjoy this program.”
Conservation Area CEO Greg Shyba says the money will be going towards enhancing the area’s walking trails.
“It really enables us to provide the walking systems here at the cross conservation area,” Shyba says. “Things such as signage, clearing the land to enable safe walking areas and to make sure that we do it properly so that we provide good signage for people to understand where they are on the trails with some interpretive information as well. We have a lot of wildlife on the property and it allows us to get the message out across about good stewardship and also the biota people are seeing as they walk around on the property.”
The area is dedicated to conservation education and the protection of wildlife habitat. It runs a variety of educational programs for students of all ages. John Barlow spent some time with the grade 3-4 class at Lake Bonavista Elementary School who have spent the past week exploring the area and learning all about nature.
Julien McLean is a student in that class and says what he is learning at the conservation area is very important.
“It’s great because we get to be here out for the whole week and just be out in nature for school,” He says. “We need to know about nature so we actually are aware of what we’re actually using when we buy stuff.”
More information:
– View original High River Online article here.
– Learn more about the Ann and Sandy Cross Conservation Centre by clicking here.