Interview with Bob Ahrens (Part 3 of 3)
PublicPart of a collection of video oral history interviews with park pioneers, as well as some events, created by EKOS Communications in partnership with the Elders Council for Parks of British Columbia to commemorate the 100th anniversary of BC Parks in 2011. The Elders Council is an independent society, whose members are retired parks system employees and conservation advocates who have dedicated a significant portion of their lives to parks and protected areas in BC. These interviews served as source material for the documentary BC Parks: Celebrating 100 Years of Recreation and Protection. Standard questions were used in most of the interviews and included dates of employment/association with BC Parks, parks worked in, greatest challenges, accomplishments and regrets, lessons learned, hopes for provincial park system today and mentors.Part of Elders’ Council for Parks in British Columbia oral history interview series, collected for the documentary "BC Parks: Celebrating 100 Years of Recreation and Protection". Continuation of the 2008 Ahrens interview with Rick Searle and Derek Thompson. Ahrens continues to discuss BC Parks' interpretation program, including internal critics, and tells an anecdote about being "too practical" at Rathtrevor Beach and successes at Kokanee Creek Park. He addresses internal dynamics within the organization, but describes an overall esprit de corps, saying there no one father of the provincial park system; rather, he speaks of numerous groundbreakers, such as Don McMurtry. Ahrens reminisces about beautiful natural places in BC, including seeing Strathcona Park and the Nahatlatch for the first time, plus west coast beaches. He speaks about national park interests in Cape Scott and Pacific Rim, then discusses the Alpine Club of Canada's involvement in parks such as the Rocky Mountains. Ahrens talks about the "classic" parks like Mount Robson, Assiniboine and Garibaldi and speaks of necessary regulations, like the limitations at Bowron Lake and West Coast Trail. He then addresses consultation with First Nations in parks past, present and future. Ahrens and his interviewers talk about sound recordings and graphic images for Elders Council for Parks of BC projects. Ahrens ends the interview by speaking about his shifting interest from BC Parks; now, he focuses on the larger world and sees problems of parks as a microcosm of bigger in the world. Camera shots show Bob Ahrens with trees and yard in background and some shots of plants. Several shots of interviewers.
- In Collection:
- 00:40:08
- Bob Ahrens interview [part 3, 2008]
- 49.66631, -125.66961
- Some background noise 11:57 and 19:50. Video cuts out at 29:50 and resumes at 29:55. This interview is the continuation of the Interview with Bob Ahrens (Part 2 of 3).
- Elders Council for Parks in British Columbia
- Donated to the University of Victoria Archives on October 20, 2008 by Rick Searle (EKOS Communications).
- Accession Number: 2011-006
- 2011
- Migration metadata from UVicSpace to Vault by KD, Summer 2024.
- Rights
- This item is under copyright and made available on this site for research and private study only. Commercial use is prohibited. For all other uses please contact UVic Libraries' Special Collections and University Archives.
- DOI
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