After more than 40 years serving as FortWhyte Alive’s Site & Wildlife Manager, Ken Cudmore fed his last bison, plowed his last snowy road and, with the humility he’s known for, quietly left to begin a much-deserved retirement.
FortWhyte would not be what it is today without Ken.
As the second-ever employee hired, he shared over 40 years of care and devotion with this land. When Ken began work in September of 1983, FortWhyte was nothing more than “a gravel sidewalk out to a gravel parking lot. None of the trees were here; it was just a pile of mud with a beautiful, award-winning building on it,” he says, referring to the recently renovated Richardson Interpretive Centre.
Any visitor to FortWhyte knows that the picturesque urban green space is so much more than that now, but what you might not know is just how much of FortWhyte’s magic is owed solely to Ken Cudmore.
“In the early days, I did everything from planting all these trees and seeding the grass that’s on the hills.” Ken was a one-man crew, giving life to the one-time cement factory and clay mine, performing every site duty himself because, as he points out, “there was nobody else to do it.”
It’s impossible to list all the tasks and roles Ken has undertaken during his decades with FortWhyte but, in the words of President and CEO Liz Wilson, “he’s a wildlife manager, urban planner, landscaper, planter, wrangler, rancher, farmer, plumber, engineer, electrician, builder, fisherman, bird watcher, weatherman, snow clearer, tractor driver, protector, mover, storyteller, water steward, biologist, detective, and one heck of an incredibly talented, intelligent, kind and loyal man.”
Ken’s time caring for the plants, trees, lakes and wildlife of FortWhyte Alive means that visitors have been able to enjoy the property, and countless students have been able to experience vital hands-on environmental education. His contributions are immeasurable. He was at FortWhyte for the construction of the Alloway Reception Centre and supervised the move and placement of the Buffalo Rubbing Stone from its original location near Manitou; he saw the expansion of the property to Sterling Lyon Parkway; he saw the establishment of the world’s largest urban bison herd and has cared for it since 1999. Most importantly, he has been instrumental in the transformation of FortWhyte from a desolate industrial area to a now-lush and full-of-life natural environment.
Anyone who’s met Ken also knows he loves to share his stories – often colourful yarns – and when asked what stood out during his time at FortWhyte, he recalls hitchhiking his way across Winnipeg in the aftermath of 1986’s historic blizzard so that he could tend to the waterfowl and move them inside to safety. Travelling solo – without the help of his usual migration helper, his beloved Labrador Retriever – he traversed the snow-crippled city from North Main Street to the current site of Buffalo Crossing on McGillivray Boulevard. “I climbed over the fence, and I’m walking through this beautiful, incredible, winter wonderland – just waist-deep snow in places – because I had to catch those ducks.”
“It’s pretty amazing,” Ken says when asked how it feels to have had such an impact on FortWhyte’s growth. “I’ve never really considered it a job – it was more of a lifestyle. It was almost like my own farm or my own ranch, and when I thought it was time to pump some water out of this lake, I just went ahead and did it, or if I thought it was time to cut the hay, I just went ahead and did it, and it didn’t matter if it was a Friday or a Sunday.”
Note: The bison calf pictured above is one that required special full-time care after being abandoned by its mother. As much as we adore them, FortWhyte does not touch the bison unless absolutely necessary.
“I always said I can't believe I get paid for it. To do what? Look after bison, fill bird feeders, raise ducks and catch fish for the aquarium?”
While Ken wonders how he got so lucky to work at FortWhyte, we’re wondering how we lucked out having him.
Ken, we will miss you, but we know this isn’t the end of your FortWhyte story.
While you’re out enjoying your retirement with your family and going fishing, we’ll be here passing on knowledge because of you. Your passion has inspired us all and we’ll do our best to take care of this land just as you would have.
We’ll be showing kids the fish you caught to stock the aquarium, telling your stories over coffee, guessing which day the first goose of the year will arrive, and celebrating everything that happens at FortWhyte because of you.
We love you. We’ll miss you. Don’t be a stranger.