Rain can’t keep a good pack of volunteers down, especially when they are on a mission to bring parkland back to its original glory.
Paul Weme, executive director with the Langley Foundation (which strives to improve Langley by funding noteworthy causes in the community, especially infrastructure and abandoned projects) says people in Langley need places to walk and enjoy nature.
Ponder Park had been neglected for a few years, but Weme sees the potential for it to grow into a hundred-acre jewel that is located at 25199 76 Ave.
“About three years ago it was identified as one of the parks that no one was doing anything with,” he said. “Nothing was happening there.”
The only recent users of Ponder Park were the local Scouts, Boys and Girls Clubs, and the Fort Langley Outdoor School Program.
“But bottom line, it was really underutilized,” Weme said.
“And I went for a walk there. I thought, you know, this is one of the nicest places in all of Langley. I think this is something that we could be a part of.”
The foundation then met with the four main Langley Rotary Clubs to discuss working together to restore and improve the park.
The Rotarians agreed and decided it would be their Epic Day of Service, one-day project.
“They kept saying, ‘The [Derek Doubleday] Arboretum, we’re trying to duplicate that somewhere else’,” he said of how the Rotary began to see the future of Ponder Park.
A rainy day in mid-spring was struck as the work party and dozens of volunteers from Rotary groups, the Langley Foundation, and local businesses joined residents and municipal staff to tackle a number of projects. The main focus was making the picnic area and bathrooms accessible.
Rick Davis, a member of Langley Central Rotary Club, was among the 40-or-so people who came out to help.
“We overcame,” he said of the rain. “We built some temporary tarps so that we could paint.”
They put down gravel for better access, painted benches and tables, pruned back branches, and did general cleanup to ensure the picnic shelter and bathrooms were usable again.
The Rotary had $5,000 to start the rejuvenation, and the Langley Foundation matched it.
“And that was up to $10,000, so we could actually do something,” Weme said.
“The good news story of this is all the volunteers… they all brought equipment, didn’t charge for anything, didn’t charge for gravel, didn’t charge for anything. And then the Township brought paint for the tables and helped with getting the project ready.”
The Rotary’s $5,000 contribution is still available to tackle another project in the park.
“It just was a natural thing to join forces and make a project happen,” said Davis. “I think this will be an ongoing project for years to come. It’s such a beautiful area for people to enjoy and it hasn’t really been used.”
Robin MacIntosh, incoming president of the Aldergrove Rotary Club has been leading the charge of bringing the four Rotary Clubs together to focus on Ponder Park.
Davis described MacIntosh's efforts as the “heart and soul” of coordinating the work. The parking and amphitheatre areas will be the next projects.
The other part of the story Weme is excited about is how the family with a farm on the north side of the park has donated land to expand the park from about 80 acres to more than 100 acres.
“It was gifted to the Langley Foundation last year,” he noted.
Al Neufeld, Langley Foundation volunteer and retired deputy director of public spaces and community initiatives in the Township, has been contributing ideas of how to bring this new land into the fold. The plan includes another entrance to the park off 80 Avenue.
“When you saw Ponder Park, there were no signs hardly anywhere other than these tiny little signs. It’s hard to get there,” Weme said.
“So we’re working, alongside the Township employees, to bring better signage, better parking, and then clean up the trails so people go, ‘wow, this is a really cool park.’ This has the potential to be one of the top parks in Langley.”
Recognizing that not all the work needed in Ponder Park can be achieved with labour and in-kind donations, the Langley Foundation has a fundraiser going to collect $250,000 to support local parks, trees, and trails, as noted on its website. Weme feels that amount will be raised by the fall to contribute to Ponder and other parks.
“I want to make Langley a better place than when I came,” he said. “And that’s kind of the goal of the foundation. So, building community, loving Langley is our slogan and we’ve just got to keep building on.”
