Another international event is coming to Okotoks this month, looking to combine socializing, history, and walking. Join your neighbours for the inaugural Jane’s Walk on May 4.
Following the annual River Valley and Community Clean Up, the walk promises to be an informative way to meet other members of the community.
“Jane’s Walks are done all over the world, and they’re a festival that takes place the first weekend of May every year,” said Jinny Toffelmire, Okotoks environment and sustainability specialist. “Jane’s Walks are meant to encourage people to share stories about their neighbourhoods, discover some maybe unseen aspects of their communities, and also to use walking as a way to connect with other people in the community, with their neighbours, that sort of thing.”
For attendees of the walk, expect to learn about interesting historical facts and often unnoticed elements of the natural and urban landscape of the area. The chat will focus on past farmlands, original wetlands, as well as participate in some bird spotting with talks about their migration patterns.
The main topic of the first Jane’s Walk will be the storm ponds. The walk will cover a loop of the storm pond at Beatrice Wyndham Park and then another loop of the storm pond in Drake Landing near the off-leash dog park.
“We don’t often think about what’s going on underneath the water [in storm ponds], you know. How do storm ponds work? What service do they provide for our community?” said Toffelmire. “So we’re going to be talking a lot about that.”
Cathy Coutts, Okotoks Museum and Archives museum specialist, will be helping to lead the walk to provide a historical aspect, as well as on of the Okotoks conservation educators and resident Wayne Meikle, who used to be on the River Valley Committee, will bring his knowledge of the nature aspect within town.
Meikle approached the Town with the idea to participate in Jane’s Walk, according to Toffelmire.
“He really is a big proponent of making people more aware of their surroundings and communities and getting people involved, so he really wanted to do this,” she said. “So we thought ‘hey, let’s do this in partnership with Wayne’ so we can support him in what he wants to do and get some Jane’s Walks going.”
Jane’s Walk will start at 1:30 p.m. at École Beausoleil on Milligan Drive, across from Drake Landing Loop. The school has given walk participants permission to use its parking lot.
As for the River Valley Clean Up, Toffelmire said there isn’t much changing there besides making it more accessible.
“We are encouraging people to, if they can’t make it out to the River Valley that day, to sign up and they can clean up even in their own communities,” she said. “So maybe if they have a park, or just alongside their property or a road, we’re encouraging people to clean up wherever they are.”
The Clean Up will start at 9 a.m., and will be followed by a barbeque at 12 p.m.
Additional information for both events can be found online at Okotoks.ca.
