By ROB BOTTERELL
MLA, Saanich North & the Islands
Great things happen when folks come together for an awesome community project.
On Pender Island, a great example is the two-kilometre Schooner Way–School Trail currently under construction by Coastal Wolf Construction, notable for its Indigenous-based ownership and work on unique local projects. When completed, the trail will provide a safe active transportation link (human powered or assisted transportation) between Magic Lake and Pender Islands School.
The community group Moving Around Pender first saw the opportunity for the trail in 2018 and the Pender Island Parks and Recreation Commission (PIPRC) took the project on with Rob Fawcett as project lead. The Pender Island community has stepped up with $122,000 and growing in donations, 11 private landowners provided statutory easements where the trail goes outside the Ministry of Transportation right of way, and Stephen Henderson, Capital Regional District (CRD) general manager of electoral areas, provided invaluable advice and support to get the project going.
All of this hard work paid off when the PIPRC was approved for a $1-million grant from the BC Active Transportation Fund toward the trail’s $2-million price tag. Significant contributions have also come from CRD director Paul Brent’s Community Works Fund, the Island Coastal Economic Trust and ICBC. Mother nature even helped! Repairs of the road washout at “the Dip” on South Pender provided a source of rock that could be stored and reprocessed for the trail base.
It is not possible to properly acknowledge everyone who contributed to the success of this project, but the trail would not have happened without Rob Fawcett’s tireless efforts. Rob moved to Pender in 2018 with his partner Hayley, fulfilling a lifelong dream. We are so lucky that Rob’s passion, with Hayley’s support, is to help people on Pender move around the island in safe and enjoyable ways.
When I asked Rob Fawcett what else he has in mind for Pender, he said, “The Schooner Way–School Trail is only the first step.” Who knew Rob also has a penchant for puns! Next time you see Rob, please join me in thanking him for showing us how to turn a community vision into reality.
The Schooner Way–School Trail project is an inspiration for communities across B.C.