Support for caretakers

Photo: Contributed

More than 80 people gathered Sunday for a conversation about keeping caretakers in regional parks.

Regional District of Central Okanagan board members did not attend – though they were invited.

Lori Mairs, caretaker at Woodhaven Conservatory Park, was among those who gathered to discuss the caretakers' role.

The event comes after the RDCO decided to streamline its security and evict seven on-site caretakers from local parks.

Mairs is one of the caretakers who will soon be evicted from her home at Woodhaven, where she pays a reduced rent in return for looking after the park.

“We celebrated the social and cultural values of people in parks with a family-friendly, enjoyable event led by three local artists: Tania Willard, from the Secwepemc First Nation, Chelsea Robinson a Kelowna artist and Asia Jong, an art history student who won a UBCO research award last summer,” said Mairs.

The group made screen print flags that they then brought home with them to hang in windows and on patios as a show of support for keeping caretakers in parks.

“The variety of people was amazing. There were children and grandmas, caretakers, neighbours, community leaders, artists, film makers and investigative researchers,” Mairs explained.

Many were able to ask questions regarding the caretaker’s duties, park environment and history of the homes on the land.

They also discussed a petition to save the caretaker’s position at the parks, as well as concerns about the RDCO decision.