Nine youth, who are unemployed or precariously employed, are now hired to upkeep the mountain bike trails around Nanaimo. (Brandon Williams/Nanaimo Mountain Bike Club)

By Spencer Sterritt

trails prevail

Nanaimo Mountain Bike Club changes gears by hiring youth to maintain trails

Dec 18, 2020 | 5:27 AM

NANAIMO — Nine people who’ve struggled with employment are riding to new careers by working on Nanaimo’s many mountain bike trails.

The 15 to 29-year-olds were recently hired full-time by the Nanaimo Mountain Bike Club thanks to a $99,000 grant from the province.

Club president Dana Wacker told NanaimoNewsNOW the funding is a win-win for everyone involved.

“These individuals get an incredible amount of work experience…using tools, working with the group, construction, potentially some landscaping opportunities in the future. They’re really getting a lot of education and hands-on experience.”

The Winter Trail Crew have worked since the beginning of December and are already nearly done their second project in the popular Doumont Trails area.

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They’ll work to bring the trails up to specific standards after a summer of hard use, before moving on to other trails in the Outer Bypass and Westwood areas.

The grant will keep them employed until the end of March.

“It’s benefiting the community in so many different ways, from getting the trails to actually having maintenance and employing youth who wouldn’t otherwise be employed,” Wacker said.

Receiving such funds was a major step forward for the non-profit, Wacker said.

“We’re really keen that through this program we can show our adaptability and this will open new doors for us.”

This is the first grant of this type given to the club.

spencer@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @SpencerSterritt