Now that the idea of building a dam on the Bow River that would have inundated parts of the Haskayne Legacy Park and Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park has been formally abandoned, park foundation CEO Jeromy Farkas is focusing his considerable energies on bigger and better projects, as he looks forward to making some impressive announcements soon.
Addressing a crowd at the Cochrane Rotary Club on Jan. 7, Farkas reiterated his gratitude to all the supporters who joined him in his fight with the Province, and he looked forward to expanding some aspects of the park, which already includes some unique elements like the opportunity for school kids to see a working ranch (the Copithorne family still grazes cattle in the park).
It’s onwards and upwards for the Glenbow Ranch Park Foundation. He said he wants to ride the momentum from the successful dam campaign to accomplish more for the park.
“I’m very bullish on the future, if you’ll pardon the pun,” Farkas said.
One of the major thrusts going forward will be the continuation of the development of the trails system, including linking up with the Trans Canada Trail project, a pet project of the Rotary Club’s Alex Baum and others in attendance.
A member of the philanthropic Harvie family was also front row at Farkas’s talk. The Harvies were instrumental in donating land and finances for the creation of Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park, which now sees 250,000 visitors per year.
Farkas was feted by the Rotarians for his tenacity in fighting the dam proposal, and for his energetic leadership of the Glenbow Ranch Park Foundation.
His resume includes stints at the Forest Lawn Dairy Queen and Ogden shingle mill in Calgary to pay off student loans and become one of the first in his family to earn a university degree.
After graduation he started his own data analysis business before going on to election as Calgary’s youngest city councillor in 2017.
In 2022 he completed a life-changing 172-day run from Mexico to Canada in support of Big Brothers and Big Sisters.
The Haskayne Legacy Park sits on the border of the Glenbow Ranch Park. Farkas said one of his goals is to add it to the portfolio of the Foundation.
His main focus will be to facilitate the completion of the section of the Trans Canada Trail that will run through the park. He said the national project is about 80 per cent complete and will span about 28,000 kilometres from coast to coast.
“It will be the best Canada has to offer, and the best Alberta has to offer,” he said.
The Calgary to Banff section of the trail will stretch to about 500 km, he said, with about 200 km left to complete.
Farkas sees the other future project – the proposed passenger rail line from Calgary airport to Banff – as a positive, envisioning a five-minute train ride from the Station to the park after a pit stop at Mackay’s for ice cream.
He said ongoing financial support for the park is a continual challenge. Currently, 80 per cent of their funding comes from individual donations and corporate support.
They are always working towards expansion, with an eye towards conservation.
We love our parks, he said, “but we don’t want to love them to death.”
