A recreational group based in the NWT says new funding for the Tri-Territorial Recreation Training Project is an ‘investment’ in the territory’s future.
On Wednesday night, the project shared this year’s Arctic Inspiration Prize alongside two other winners in Ottawa.
As a result, the training initiative received $600,000 in funding, which it says will be used to help recreation leaders in northern communities with ‘sustainable and relevant training’.
Read: Three Groups Share $1.5 Million Arctic Inspiration Prize
The project – which has yet to be launched – is based in Whitehorse but will also benefit communities in the NWT and Nunavut once operational.
Geoff Ray, executive director of the NWT Recreation and Parks Association, says Wednesday’s funding announcement should help the project get off the ground.
“We’re now able to roll things out at a much quicker pace,” he said.
“We need to work on the curriculum and work on the competencies and then piloting it in our communities and seeing what works and what can be improved.
“This also allows us to project many years into the future and really think about what’s going to be the best program for our communities.”
Ray says the project is targeted towards recreation leaders, after-school program providers and educators to give them the tools they need to develop and lead effective recreational programs.
Partners in all three territories have been working on the initiative for the past year and a half. Ray hopes communities throughout the North will benefit from it once it’s launched.
“Our vision is that this will be rolled out every community across northern Canada and possibly into the provinces where there are remote and rural communities,” he said.
“This will be a living and breathing project for many years to come.”
