By Tracy Sim, Times-Chronicle
Three local groups will benefit from the province’s Community Gaming Grants program for environmental public safety initiatives.
The grants were announced on Jan. 28 and highlighted by Boundary-Similkameen MLA Roly Russell.
“There are individual and organizational champions in all of our communities focused on keeping people and the environment safe,” he said. “We are so fortunate to have so many organizations undertaking that work, whether it’s search and rescue, fire protection, ecosystem conservation, animal protection, or points between. I want to thank every one of the people involved in all of these organizations for all that they do for our communities.”
The three local beneficiaries of this initiative are Oliver/Osoyoos Search and Rescue, the South Okanagan Rehabilitation Centre for Owls (SORCO), and the Osoyoos Desert Society.
The funds are slated for non-operational costs, according to SORCO manager Dale Belvedere Their $27,000 grant will go towards education materials, website updating, and their education centre that attracts many school groups. A second component goes toward bird care, medication and vet costs.
The largest of the three local grants went to Oliver/Osoyoos Search and Rescue in the amount of $71,700. Kyle Fossett, who spoke on behalf of OOSAR, said that last year was their busiest year ever with 34 events, many related to the fires and floods that dominated much of the news across B.C. The funds are to be used for the purchase of two new quads that will replace their existing ones that are 12 years old, according to Fossett. Also, specialized training courses for the volunteer members are a huge benefit for the organization and relieves the society’s need to fundraise for these expenses. Additional costs such as annual radio licensing, insurance for equipment and vehicles are also covered in the grant.
Fossett expressed his gratitude for the grant and said it will go a long way to protect the public in their time of need.
Jayme Friedt, managing director with the Osoyoos Desert Society, said their $54,500 grant that will go toward fulfilling their mandate to protect, restore, and educate the public about the importance of its 67 acres of antelope brush as an important ecosystem that is at risk, meaning that animals, large and small, that live in this ecosystem are also at risk. One of their successful initiatives involves the introduction of the weevil bug into the antelope brush where the weevils would eat the dalmatian toadflax, a competing and invasive species to the antelope brush. Friedt stressed that grants like these are vital to assist in the operating costs of the Osoyoos Desert Society and expressed her gratitude for the Community Gaming Grant program.
More than $10.5 million is being distributed through the Environment and Public Safety streams of the Community Gaming Grant program for the 2021/2022 fiscal year. A total of $140 million is distributed annually through Community Gaming Grants to roughly 1,500 community not-for-profit organizations across all streams of the program. These grants help organizations build strong, vibrant communities across B.C.
