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Welcome to the Friends of Sandbanks Park Information Update!
Through these regular emails, we inform our readers of upcoming events at the Park, including updates to our website.
And check our Facebook page
for any late-breaking news, recent photographs and video clips!
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Latest News
After a summer season that could only be called both unexpected and unprecedented, here's what has been happening with the Friends.
As you are already aware, COVID-19 prevented both the Park and the Friends from hosting most of our usual calendar of events.
We have all missed the fun of participating in these family events and meeting all our members and neighbours this summer.
The Park had one of its busiest seasons ever, my guess is that "working from home" had several different interpretations for our Ontario and Quebec visitors!
Restrictions in international travel proved to be a benefit to many local hostelries… showing "No Vacancy" signs for a summer season that was both unpredictable,
yet surprisingly profitable for some businesses.
Despite having a limited presence at the Park this summer, we have managed to make great strides toward the completion of our
Dunes Beach Boardwalk Project.
We were more than pleasantly surprised when Darrin Birnie of Sandbanks River Country (the former Martin's Outlet) made a donation of $25,000 towards the completion of this project.
In addition, a dedicated member who would prefer to remain in the shadows, donated $10,000 toward the same project, with the promise of an additional matching donation
for others who donated from August to November 2020.
It looks like this valuable accessibility project will be a reality by summer 2022.
In addition to these major donations, we have received many smaller but nonetheless welcome donations from patrons through the new "Book a Naturalist" Program
initiated at Sandbanks by Park Naturalist Yvette Bree this summer.
Thanks, Yvette!
Ours is a charitable organization that relies heavily on Park visitors and local community support both to recognize and to fund our worthwhile projects.
Safety, beach mobility and accessibility for all have been at the forefront of our efforts for the past fifteen years.
Allowing anyone with mobility issues the freedom to access our beaches, as well as helping first-responders to come quickly to the aid of anyone in distress regardless of sand or high water is of paramount importance.
We welcome donations through our secure
Canada Helps Site,
as well as by old-fashioned cheques sent to our mailing address:
Friends of Sandbanks Park
PO Box 22007, 97 Main Street,
Picton, ON, K0K 0AO
(all donations qualify for a taxable receipt)
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Annual General Meeting 2020
Usually one of our end-of-season highlights with fun, food and drink, and camaraderie after the usual annual business, this year's gathering will be held as a Zoom Meeting.
While everyone is welcome, we would like to remind you that only Friends of Sandbanks Members for 2020 may vote on any motion or for any election called at that meeting.
Full details of protocols and registration access.
Member reports will be posted in the last week of November, 2020.
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The Park in the Shoulder Seasons
Just because the Park is now closed for 2020 doesn't mean that you can't enjoy the trails, the beaches and the tranquility of one of Ontario's most beautiful and magical places.
Fall, with its muted colours and meandering trails free of biting insects and crowds of beach-goers offers a great way to unwind from that stress that many of us have been feeling!
It may seem premature to suggest cross-country skiing with such unseasonable and warm weather in November, but the Park offers several groomed trails… as soon as that inevitable snow falls.
If you have an interest in cross-country skiing, drop us an email and we'll put you in touch with our resident winter afficionados!
media_relations@friendsofsandbanks.org
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Updates of PEC and Quinte Genealogies
John Brebner, our Media Relations Coordinator, historian and avid genealogist has just updated our collection of County genealogies and family histories.
If you have County roots, you will find family information in these growing compilations:
You may contact him directly at: john.brebner@brebner.com
Quick Tip
Use our site Google search box to see quickly if we have any information on your ancestor. Simply type in his/her name (i.e. "John Smith") to return all instances of that name
in our collections.
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Appreciation
Finally, we'd like to thank Sandbanks Park and Park Superintendent Robin Reilly for his help and advice during this challenging season.
We'd also like to extend a big" thank-you" to the Park staff who wrestled with the installation of our signature Boardwalk project at Dunes Beach!
Many thanks for all your help!
Stay safe!
John A. Brebner, Media Relations Coordinator
Friends of Sandbanks Park
Contact: media_relations@friendsofsandbanks.org
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