It finally clicks!

Okay, so now I understand what is going on.  I have always had the belief that volunteers are important, and in rural areas that is no different. But after my latest project I have realized just how valuable volunteer run groups are.  I have been researching sports field policies and procedures to determine what Forestburg can do, and during this research is when everything clicked!

Larger centres have a full time employee dedicated to field bookings/scheduling, being a go-to person for the sports organizations in the town or city. Forestburg had an organization that did that task. So the job was always done, but by volunteers, not a full time paid employee. How is it that a group of people who donate their time can complete the job that a full time employee does elsewhere? This is why volunteer organizations are so valuable in a place like Forestburg.

In other news I found it funny on Monday as I was watching the morning news and there was a discussion of all of the construciton projects occurring in Edmonton.  For a moment I thought I was immune to construction season until I arrived at work and found this...

There was construction right outside of my office, but by Tuesday afternoon the road was almost back to normal, just waiting to pave it again. I found it interesting how long it takes for something to happen in Edmonton, yet here within two days the road was functioning again.

Adaptation and Patience

Not only has this Rural Capacity Internship been about a job and working with a rural municipality, but for me it has been about living in rural Alberta as well. After leaving the Town of Beaumont (a town that is listed as being rural) and moving to the big centre of Camrose for school (a place considered rural by most people in larger centres), this summer has truly opened my eyes to what living in rural Alberta really means. You don't have to be a farmer to see what it truly is like to have a rural lifestyle.  I have encountered a few things over the past 3 months while living in rural Alberta that initially seemed odd to me, but have now become a way of life.

I am working in the Village of Forestburg but living in a smaller village close by called Heisler. I initially thought Forestburg was small with its population of 895, but have realized how small a "small" village can be.  Heisler is classified as a village, even though its population is approximately 150, which does not meet current classification standards to be called a village, but it has been a village for such a long time that there is no use in changing it to the Hamlet of Heisler, or something else. This weekend there is a large event in Heisler, one that will double, if not triple the current population of the village. This event will bring the town to life with people both young and old and families.  The campgrounds have all been booked and there is great anticipation for this event.  Heisler, Alberta is the host for the 2011 Bantam and Peewee Baseball Provincials. 8 teams will compete (4 from each category) to determine who is the best this year.  Rumour has it that one of the Heisler teams is undefeated and could blow the competition out of the water! So if you want to check out some sports this weekend come to Heisler, where you can also see Canada's Largest Baseball Glove!

Another aspect of rural living is "The Wave".  Now it's not the wave they do at sports events but it's the friendly hello wave.  It's easy to do, whether you are carrying in groceries to your house and you see a vehicle drive by, when you are on the highway driving and someone is out cutting their grass, or whether you are just cruising the back roads and pass someone.  Everyone does the wave in rural Alberta, yet in Edmonton or any larger city there is no wave, and if you do a wave you get weird looks.  I find the wave has a way of welcoming everyone which is really nice.

The art of having a conversation has been something that I have really noticed in my experience living in rural Alberta. Whether you are just passing on a walk around the village or dropping something off to a neighbour you always have to plan for at least an extra hour of time.  If the task takes 2 minutes, you should plan on it taking at least 1 hour, but it could take up to 3 hours. Everyone enjoys talking, whether it's about the weather, what's going on in the village, or what people like Paul and myself are doing in a small village. Even on a walk around the village there isn't the typical "Hey, how's it going", "good" conversation, but more of the "Hey, how's it going", "good, how's everything with you" "It's great but these mosquitoes....".  A simple 5 second conversation in the city or a larger town can go on for 1 hour in rural Alberta, as you complain about the bugs and the rain, and the heat, while you are standing in the road, getting eaten alive by the bugs and some colour on your skin from the sun, but those things don't seem to matter when you are meeting people and just chatting.

I have enjoyed all of my experiences in rural Alberta, but one thing I have struggled a bit with is limited hours. In larger centres everything seems to be open when you need it, yet living in Heisler and Forestburg has allowed me to plan ahead for what I need, and if the store is closed by the time I get there then it must mean I don't really need what I went to get.

The other night I realized how challenging it can be living in a rural area, especially if you are sick.  The doctors office in Forestburg is open on Tuesdays and Fridays for the month of July, so you better be sick on one of those days or have an appointment because the doctors are usually busy.  The Daysland hospital is about 20-25 minutes down the road from Heisler and there is always a doctor available there. Another part of rural living is that you need to plan out when you get a prescription filled.  I am used to being able to get a prescription filled whenever I need it, but in Forestburg there is no pharmacist on site at the drug store on Wednesdays, which seemed very odd to me, but did not seem to phase anyone else because it's been like that for a while. If you are sick and need prescription drugs on a Wednesday you can either wait until Thursday or make a trip up to Daysland.  I guess these are all things I used to take for granted but now realize that you have to learn to adapt to where you are and you need to have patience because things don't occur at this exact moment, like they do in a larger centre.

I am now realizing that my time living in Rural Alberta is winding down.  It saddens me a bit to think of all the little things that I found strange before have now become a part of my daily life, part of my thought process, and I am interested to see how things will change when I return to school in September and learn how to adapt to life in a large city.

A Video

I continue to meet many different people in Forestburg and am learning a lot about the village.  I find it especially interesting to hear what type of grants volunteer organizations are looking for based on what they would like to accomplish in the future.  It's really neat to see how the organizations view themselves as making a difference in this community both at the present time and looking toward the future.  I find it amazing that there are so many volunteer organizations, and many people who are part of one organization are also involved in one or two more.  It really shows the pride that people have in their community.

Here is a video I made of pictures of the New Multi-Purpose Facility. The first event in this building was the Forestburg Grade 12 graduation and the grand opening will be later in the summer.  It will be exciting in the winter when the building will be full of hockey players and hockey parents!

Don't Forget To Stop And Smell The Roses.

Wow!  Looking at a calendar this internship has flown by.  It's hard to believe that it's over half way over.
I have being enjoying myself at work, working on a few different things for the village. I have searched for and found a few grants that some volunteer organizations can apply for next year or in the fall, and I am still waiting to hear back from a few organizations to see if they need any assistance.
Yesterday I was sent on a little adventure to take pictures of Forestburg.  Some of these pictures were of places in the village that I deemed to be of importance from the view of an outsider, while other pictures will be sent to the Communities in Bloom National Office, showcasing what Forestburg has to offer. I enjoyed exploring the village with a camera in hand and discovered why this community has received so many Communities in Bloom Awards.
There is a great sense of pride that a lot of people in the village have about their flowers, their lawns and even other areas.  One couple was out watering their front flower beds and i asked if I could take some pictures of their flowers.  They allowed me to do so and then directed me to their backyard where there was a significant amount of flowers with different figurines and even an herb garden.  They were so proud of what they had done and so were other people I encountered.  It was great seeing how excited people were about their gardens and how proud they were to call Forestburg their home.

To see some of the photos I took check out the village of Forestburg website.

Contemplating Canada

In a little bit of down time at the office between phone calls and while on my lunch break I have been following the visit by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to Canada and seeing what their experience of Canada will be like. To be honest, I am a little jealous of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and the stops they are making along their visit to Canada, but the one place I wish I could have been was at the Canadian feast they had with various foods from across Canada.  I was rather surprised when I discovered what was being served from Alberta.  It wasn’t beef, bread made from Alberta wheat, or even corn from down south. 

 

Alberta has been known for its beef for a number of years so to not serve the royal couple beef really confused me. In Kendra’s little world, beef is an essential protein in Alberta and could probably be considered to be indigenous to the prairies (although this assumption could be wrong, it is what I have believed since moving to this province). So why was the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge not served beef?  

 Because they were served yak!

This is a picture of a yak.

I was a little embarrassed, not because the couple was not fed beef, but because I had no idea that yaks existed in Alberta.  I thought Yaks existed in India and areas with high altitudes as a form of transportation, but after a brief search online I found the blog for the ranch that produced the yak consumed by Will and Kate.  Here’s the blog for Springridge Ranch that you can visit.

This is what the cross between a cow and yak looks like

So from my understanding this is not pure yak, but is a yak crossed with black angus to produce yak-cross beef.  If I am completely wrong in this assumption please let me know. All of this talk of yak makes me want to buy some and see what it tastes like, but it is currently available only in Calgary or from the producers website.

Here are some
Yak Jerky Sticks
you can buy from
Springridge Ranch.

Now don't get me wrong, but I am not meaning to offend anyone by criticizing the lack of Alberta beef on the menu, I was just surprised by the fact that yaks are edible and that there are some bred right here in Alberta.

The Sweet Life of a Rural Capacity Intern

With the long weekend coming up and everyone getting ready for Canada Day I decided to reflect on a few of my experiences thus far, specifically one task I was asked to complete. 

Here are some facts about interns that you may not know.

• An intern must always be willing to get fully involved in things

• An intern should be willing to get their hands a little dirty

• Sometimes the task an intern has to complete may be physically strenuous, but it usually isn't. 

• Nothing can get in the way of a Rural Capacity Intern trying to help out a community.

Today I was asked to complete a very challenging task, at least it was challenging for me.  I had to lift two fairly heavy boxes and take half of the contents from one box and half the contents from another box and put the contents together in a third box.  I know this is challenging but I am fortunate enough to have attended university so I was able to figure things out with little assistance.  Another reason why this task was challenging was because of the contents of the boxes that I was dealing with. The contents of the boxes have been known to cause diseases, pain and suffering in young children and adults, and even changes in personality and temperament in the young and old.  It was definitely a dangerous task, but I knew I could do it. 

Here are some pictures of the substances I was dealing with.

Have a happy Canada Day!