12 volunteers were gifted apple pies Wednesday, Sept. 25 for their work restoring the Otter Point boardwalk at Scout Island.
The boardwalk's core group of volunteers were invited for a walk along the trail they worked on, where they were ‘ambushed’ by the Apple Pie Society, a group of grateful community members who work ‘undercover’ to find and celebrate volunteers.
“We understand that you guys...were over and above,” said one of the society’s organizers. “You’ve put in so many hours to do such wonderful things on this boardwalk,” she said, noting when snow, sleet or freezing conditions were upon them “you still came every day, and that’s outstanding volunteering.”
The volunteers exclaimed their surprise as they were each presented with a pie. “It’s still warm!” one said about the pie, “very thoughtful you guys,” said another.
The boardwalk was redone last fall after major flooding in the spring of 2020 caused it to rise from the ground, around the same time the Covid-19 pandemic hit the world. Ray Hornby, a field naturalist and one of the volunteers said the community had not seen flooding like that for more than a hundred years. He said with the crops and roots wiped away from the 2017 wildfire, a sudden spring snow melt and several days of rainfall made for a terrible combination that led to the flooding. Both the Willow Trail and Otter Point boardwalks were underwater and became unusable.
Hornby, along with Don Lawrence, Ray Getzlaf and Sean Donahue, was tasked by the Williams Lake Field Naturalists to develop plans for repairing the boardwalks, the first of which was done in the fall of 2022. It took a year to raise funds for the repairs, estimated to be $138,000 along with $38,000 in volunteer time.
The group said Williams Lake First Nation provided support with archaeological steps and with moving the project through the consultation process. They also highlighted contributions made by Toosey Old School Wood Products along with many others who they recognized on a sign posted by the boardwalk.
It took two years to fully complete the reconstruction once funding was confirmed. From blueprints, to screwing stainless steel posts 14 feet into the ground to going through about 5,000 screws, the boardwalk was completed and can now be enjoyed by Scout Island’s 12,000 annual visitors.
Along with the steady team of 12 volunteers, others came and went to help reconstruction when they could. Peter Opie said it was a fun process, though sometimes challenging.
“We had good people to work with, great camaraderie...it was a lot of work, but we didn’t put in long days” Opie said. The boardwalk was built over a few months, and even once the group started to tire they pushed on.
“It started getting colder and colder, but you just put on another layer of clothes and gloves,” Opie said. Lots of people use the trail on a regular basis and the boardwalk is a special feature which allows you to get right into the marshy environment and observe the wildlife. Community members appreciate the trail, he said, and that was evident by their frequent visits.
“They’d see us working in the cold and wet and would bring us coffee and doughnuts,” Sean Donahue said.
There are still more repairs to be done on Scout Island, which is always in need of volunteers. Donahue said the bridge leading to the Otter Point boardwalk is next on the list.
This was the Apple Pie Society’s third time striking an unsuspecting volunteer with a happy surprise. After starting up in February, the society gifted an apple pie to Robin Dawes for her work getting the ski lodge at Bull Mountain. They also gifted pies to the Hough Memorial Cancer Fund Society during their last official meeting as they shut down in the spring.
