FortWhyte Alive

Cambrian Credit Union has a long history of giving back to the community, not only through
sponsorships and donations, but also through volunteerism. As one of Winnipeg’s largest credit unions, Cambrian feels it is their responsibility to support the charitable institutions that continue to strengthen our community—and they are proud to be FortWhyte Alive’s Fall Season Sponsor.

“FortWhyte’s extensive volunteer program, along with the multitude of environmental education, outdoor recreation and social enterprise programming opportunities reflect many of our corporate giving priorities, and offer our members and staff an opportunity to connect with, and steward, our natural world. Our fall season sponsorship is indicative of the importance we place on sustainability, and supporting a beacon for sustainability in our community.”

–Kim Wentz
Vice-President Marketing & Communications
Cambrian Credit Union
 

A Heartfelt Letter

July, 2009
Dear FortWhyte Alive,
Enclosed you will find support for your work at FortWhyte. I would like to share with you the motivation for this support. For 42 years, I have lived less than 20 minutes from FortWhyte, and other than taking the children to the Interpretive Centre once, about 30 years ago, I have never visited this hidden spectacle. Our daughter is a park interpreter for a provincial park, and loves her work. She has been trying different little schemes to get us out to enjoy our parks and natural areas, and was always very enthusiastic about what she found interesting. I enjoy the beauty of nature, but somehow never got on the wagon about all this nature stuff. She has patiently coached me along, feeding me interesting little bits about unusual birds, plants, and flowers. Then she gave me a ticket to the bison safari for Christmas a few years ago, playfully telling me that these were prairie elephants (I am an elephant enthusiast). That got me a little more interested and since then I have been watching bison. Well, last Sunday, feeling the need for a personal quiet time and complete break in the usual, I took a walk through the first sections of one of the paths, and a small part of the boardwalk at FortWhyte. I was so inspired by the natural beauty.

“I sat on a bench by the water and literally cried. I could not believe this was virtually in my backyard, and I had never seen it.”

I will be purchasing a song bird support as a birthday gift for a friend (who has never been to FortWhyte) who is an avid birder, and a (birthday present) membership for my husband who loves to watch the geese in migration, so that he can visit at his leisure and watch these majestic birds. The bison care gift will be for me, and I would like a plank to recognize our daughter’s persistence, since she finally succeeded in teaching me that there is a whole wonderful world, literally right next door to me. FortWhyte Alive is one the most under-rated natural gems we have in Manitoba, and I can not express how grateful I am that someone had the insight to preserve this little corner of our city and nurture it into what it is today.

I wish you continued success in developing this area, and assure you that we intend to make very good use of our memberships.

Thank you,
Edith Mulhall