The Kimberley Trail Society (KTS) and the Kimberley Nature Park Society (KNPS) are pleased to announce the upcoming visit of the world renowned International Mountain Biking Association (IMBA) to Kimberley.

Between November 8 and 11, two well-travelled experts from IMBA Canada will be providing workshops and consulting with local trail organizations.  The highlight is the no-cost, all day trail building skiltls session on Saturday, Nov. 10, which is open to anyone in the public and which will involve an upgrade to an existing trail on city property.

Don’t let the name fool you!  While the IMBA obviously has a close relationship with mountain biking, this association has literally written the book on how sustainable, multi-user trails can be built and managed.  The two main goals for this visit are for Kimberley and area trail enthusiasts to learn more about proper trail building techniques and principles and for organizations that have a vested interest in managing these trails to learn more about that complex task: membership, communication, volunteer recruiting/retention, etc.

Learn from the Pros:  Saturday, November 10 – The trail building workshop will be broken into a 3hr classroom session and a 3hr field work session, with an hour break for lunch.  The class will be held at the College of the Rockies Kimberley campus (Blarchmont School) starting at 9 a.m. sharp.  Snacks and beverages will be provided, but please bring a lunch as well.

For the field work, the KTS is very pleased to have recently partnered with the City of Kimberley in co-managing the existing  trails above Levirs Ave., below the Trickle Creek Golf Course and over to the Nature Park boundary.  The work site will be on a steep and eroding section of the trail known as No Name.   Logistics for getting people and tools to the site will be discussed in the classroom.  Attendees should come dressed for the weather conditions, dirty work (boots and gloves are important) and bring along some water and snacks for the 1-4 p.m. session.  Attendees are strongly encouraged to bring their own tools (pulaskis, mattocks, strong garden rakes, leaf rakes, etc.), but some KTS and KNPS tools will also be available.  We would ask that no children be brought to either the classroom or the work site, please and thank you.

Please RSVP if you would like to attend the Saturday workshop so that we can be prepared with tools, food and beverages in appropriate numbers.   This can be done by sending a quick note to this e-mail:  [email protected]   The event will run in some form no matter the weather and conditions.

Saturday evening, after people have had a chance to clean up, there will be a social gathering at the Pedal and Tap in the Platzl.

If you are involved with a not-for-profit organization or society which helps to manage trails and would have an interest in a ‘management’ workshop, please send a note to the above e-mail address.

Kimberley Trail Society and the Kimberley Nature Park Society

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