cktimes.ca Archives for Ecowrappin'


Ecowrappin'

With Tom Chatterton

Friends, Friends and more Friends

Tuesday, November 12, 2002

With the great expansion of clubs and associations in the last several years, one of the most common we seem to encounter is the "FRIENDS OF" groups. Most of these resulted from concerned citizens who recognized the need for assistance to a particular cause or organization. Friends groups have been formed in many different areas of concern including health, education, culture and environment. Even within the environmental "friends", there are a variety of categories ranging from endangered animals to rivers to wetlands to woodlots.
Southwestern Ontario has a number of groups which are "friends of parks". All of these are associated with a national alliance known as the Canadian Parks Partnership (http://www.canadianparkspartnership.com ) which is dedicated to the public understanding, appreciation and stewardship of Canada's parks, historic sites and Marine Conservation Areas. The cooperating association members ("Friends of") work in collaboration with their partner park. There are currently 81 member associations within the ranks of the Canadian Parks Partnership comprised of over 16000 members.
Three CPP members in our immediate area include The Friends of Point Pelee (http://www.wincom.net/~fopp), The Friends of Pinery Park (http://www.pinerypark.on.ca) and The Friends of Rondeau (http://www.rondeauprovincialpark.ca). All of these are non-profit, charitable organizations established for the purpose of fund raising in order to encourage and support programs for interpretive, educational, scientific, historical, protection and preservation purposes related to the natural and historical resources of the park. The "Friends" are run by a volunteer Board of Directors assisted by the general membership of the organization.
The "Friends" are involved in a variety of activities including: operating a retail store located in the Visitor Centre; sponsoring events and festivals for members and park visitors; funding capital projects such as trails, viewing platforms, canoes, computers, etc; developing and printing park-oriented publications such as trail and field guides; assisting in restoring the ecological integrity of the park by financial support and work parties.
For more detailed information on the individual "Friends" check out the above web sites and consider joining and volunteering for your favourite "Friends".