The Official Newsletter of the Alberta Junior Forest Warden Association

December 2011

TREE MAIL

AJFWA President’s MessageAl Wardale

This is a great time to be a Junior Forest Warden!

CJFWA Tree Lot Opens November 26Alumni Winter Skills Feb 18-20, 2012Southern PT Camp February 3-5, 2012 Outreach February 17-20, 2012North/Central PT Camp February 24-26, 2012AC Conference April 13-15, 2012AJFWA AGM / Conference April 27-29, 2012

Events CalendarAJFWA Events & Regional Events

Here we are, stepping into our snowshoes from November to December as the fall season gives way to Christmas! How time flies when you’re having fun, and I imagine fun is being had as the white stuff lets us do a whole bunch of seasonal activities! There may not

be enough snow to build a quinzee, but plenty to start the cross country skiing enjoyed by so many of us.

2011 was quite a year for us, and the shining light for Junior Forest Wardens was the National Campout held at Gregg Lake in the Hinton area last July. What an amazing week we experienced, and while the rain seemed relentless at times, the JFW spirit prevailed! We have a special section in Treemail this month, dedicated to the personal memories and pictures that commemorate the time at camp. Read on through the pages and enjoy!

The New Year does show great promise of wonderful events beginning right away in January and carrying on right through the winter and spring. Of note, get ready as the Board begins planning for the big April weekend Conference and AGM. There will be more information on location within the next month, but you don’t want to miss it!

Just a few weeks ago the Fuelling Change funding competition with Shell, that we were competing in came to a close, and we succeeded in our run for a grant totaling $25,000 earmarked for the Tree Planting Program, and thank you for your support through the six month process!

I had the pleasure to spend over a month in the woods camping this fall as I outfitted trips for visitors to our province, and enjoyed showing them a piece of “my Alberta”. When I lead these trips, there are generally two things that I am constantly reminded of. The first is how remarkable our Alberta wilderness is. It’s diversity of plant and wildlife and the size of uncharted country astounds these tourists, no matter where the come from. They all wish to “get lost” in it and forget for a while their worries and heavily populated home areas. The second is how skilled our Junior Forest Wardens are in fire lighting and knife craft as compared to the average adult that comes to hunt with me! These fundamental skills we teach all our wardens is often not part of these travelers experience, but you can imagine they get a lesson while they’re here! And this year around the camps main fire I hung a “wood spirit” carving done by Peter Mehl a number of years ago. Peter was also a hunter before his passing last year, and I thought that he would have enjoyed the stories and camaraderie that spawns around the campfire. While he may only be there in spirit, I think he would have enjoyed it.

As we move through the month of December, most of our clubs will be hosting the seasonal parties with much fun and eating and more eating of course! Enjoy these times together and celebrate the program and each other! Merry Christmas!

AJFWA Chief Warden MessageTerry Garrett

The weather outside is delightful for this time of year. It is probably a good time to try building some shelters for a snow lacking forest. Make sure that you take time with family and friends to enjoy the great

outdoors over the holiday season. I know that all Junior Forest Wardens are on Santa’s “nice” list and have lots of great outdoor gear on their wish list. Hopefully, all your wishes will come true! As we reflect on the past year, the highlight had to be the tremendously successful National campout this summer. The good news is that there are always great adventures and opportunities in this program. The New Year will bring many more occasions to share events with friends in our Junior Forest Warden family. I can hardly wait! Have a wonderful Christmas and cherish your time with family and friends. All the best in the New Year; may you be blessed with health, happiness and great joy.

We would like to invite you to participate in the Winter Outreach Adventure!

FAmily DAy lOng WeekenD, FebruAry 17-20, 2012

This year we are heading into the Elizabeth Parker Hut for the last in our cross-country ski series. We will meet at Lake Louise on the Friday night and then ski into the EP Hut on Friday morning. Doug Latimer, our fantastic guide, will lead the participants on the 10 km ski into the hut for a weekend in the beautiful white wilderness. Who knows what adventures Doug or the committee have planned for us? A/C’s, Leaders and Parents are all invited to register in this event, but space is very limited!!!! More details will appear on the JFW website by mid-December. There will be a date to start registration in January. The cost will be $190/person which includes accommodations, food and van transportation from Edmonton. Throw on your backpack, bring your sleeping bag and skis and join in the fun!! Watch for JFW website for more details. It is a great idea to practice x-country skiing before the Outreach!

The Outreach Committee, Susie Neider, Kirsten Wahlfeldt, Devlin Griffiths, and Terry Garrett

Winter Outreach 2012 - ELIZABETH PARKER HUT

President

Al Wardale

Vice PresidentDerek Neumann

Secretary

Kirsten WahlfeldtTreasurer Lisa Patrick Chief Warden of Alberta

Terry Garrett

Assistant Chief Warden

Brian McBride

Chief Warden Emeritus Ernst Klaszus

Membership Director Dawn Friesen

Director – CJFWS

Roger Madaire

Director – CJFWS Arlene Walroth

Director – CJFWS Jacquie Hromyk

Director – NE

Leah Pierunek

Director – NE Peggy Zatorski

Director – NE

Tony Vandenberg

Director – NW

Dale Dupuis

Director – YRC

Terry Bartley

Director – YRC Kirt Bennett

Director – YRC Rondalene Schiebel

Director - David Thompson

Sharleen Klein

Director - David Thompson Shannon Lirondelle

AJFW Alumni

Margery McBride Elliott

AJFW Alumni Iris Morgan

AJFW Office Administrator

Angie Lubbers

Merry Christmas to all our fellow Junior Forest Wardens!

From Your Alberta Junior Forest Warden Association, Provincial Board!

Memories from National Camp 2011...

The reason my good-byes are happy ones is we can’t start planning the next National Camp, until this one is finished. A good-bye here, means we are that much closer to the start of the next one, and able to be with each other again. Speaking of which, when the next National Camp will be? Can we start a betting pool on this? :) Even though nothing has been decided, I am eagerly awaiting the next one. For those that have been, please keep the memories of this camp . . . a better word is probably “experience” . . . Let’s keep the memories of this “experience” alive and in the forefront of people’s minds. This was truly a treat and a pleasure for me to be involved in helping make so many wonderful memories for everyone that attended. Let’s spread the word through our JFW Family and have an even bigger turnout next time. Kirt Bennett Entertainment Chair, JFW National Camp 2011

This was the seventh National Camp that I attended. It was well organized with many programs being offered. The people I talked to were overwhelmed. Thank-you Committee for a job well done.

Garry Nelson

It seemed to take forever for it to arrive. After many hours of planning, phones calls, stressing, sleepless nights, hours of travel….it was time. National Camp, 2011 at Gregg Lake, Alberta was finally here. What an event. Board members as well as a few others showed up early to set things up like the stages, signs, cook house, tents, etc. We worked long hours in the rain but in the end our efforts and organizational skills shone through.

Approximately 650 people arrived in just 2 short days. The opening ceremonies were held that Sunday night and the next morning, the sessions began. The wagon was full of people riding around the campground to and from sessions. Kids and adults alike were all smiles while enjoying their time running from one session to another. We all came together every evening at the stage for great entertainment. Everyone pretty much collapsed into bed by day end so that they would be ready to start all over again the next day.

My daughter, Brittney, and I volunteered with First Aid for the week. Jacquie Hromyk lead our team very efficiently and professionally. It was a great experience and what a team we were.

I want to send my kudos out to all of the other volunteers who worked so hard to make sure this camp was everything we wanted it to be. Thank you is not enough for all they did leading up to and during National Camp.

This National Camp will always be a very memorable time for me for many reasons. I enjoyed being a part of such a wonderful experience and team effort. The most important memory, however, is spending quality time with my daughter, starting with packing our truck (a true challenge) to driving for 8 hours to and from National Camp. We enjoyed the scenery, snow, rain, sunshine and wildlife along the way. We are forever thankful we took the wrong road to an absolutely beautiful lake along the highway called Mt Robson. Yes, we were in BC. LOL The greatest mistake anyone could ever make. We took this opportunity to walk around the lake, dip our very sore feet into the water and taking pictures. We still laugh at ourselves.

Arlene Leibel Walroth

My family enjoyed it immensely. It was great to meet up with old friends and to make now ones. To receive a 25 year pin was a great honor. I wish to thank the organizing committee for putting out a great event. We will always have fond memories.

Jeannette Cinq-Mars

It is always refreshing to spend those 12 days every 3 years with such a huge group of amazing JFW members who have wholeheartedly “joined the family adventure”!

Jacquie Hromyk

On the road to National Camp. Blinding hailstorm, winds nearly blowing my overloaded truck and canoe trailer off the road. As the mountains rose on the horizon, a thousand thoughts and plans raced through my head. The National Camp Committee had done it’s work. How in the world was this JFW family going to pull this off? As volunteer coordinator I knew we had “ the faithful few” that would be there and give it the usual 110%. Would this Volunteer Association be able to come up with the supreme effort it would take to keep our heads above water? I needn’t have worried. From the moment we drove through

the gate at Gregg Lake, the spirit of the volunteers ruled the day. Tents got put up, stages were built, tarps were hung, picnic tables appeared where they were needed, signs popped up like mush-rooms, a mountain of logs turned into fire wood. The JFW Volunteer Army took over and no job was too small, nothing left un-done. They didn’t need a coordinator or a Master Plan. They saw what needed to be done and did it. We didn’t need to go around begging and twisting arms. You were coming to us and asking “what can I do?” The week was filled with many memories, but the lasting one for me is of the

JFW Family all pulling together to make National Camp 2011 a huge success. You can’t buy that! It takes volunteers! Thank you... everyone.

Terry Bartley

Sharing a meal has traditionally been a way for families to grow closer and bond. We shared a wonderful meal with our huge JFW family at the BBQ on the Wednesday even-ing made all the more special with the fabu-lous cake created by the talents of Bev Ellison and Roger Madaire.

Mike Sparks

Memories from National Camp 2011...

“What an amazing week spent with family and friends! Rain or shine, National Camp was the highlight of my summer, and made special by all of you there! Thanks for the memories!!!

Al Wardale

National Camp 2011 Chairman

We are now the proud owners of 15 new mattresses with removable covers, enough to fill every bunk in the west camp. The mattresses were a generous donation from a company called Mattress Mattress, through their program, Matts for Kids. The mattresses are a standard twin size, spring frame, the kind you find in most little kids’ rooms. The washable, loose-fitting, WHITE covers feature:

The covers were purchased in a funding partnership between the Alberta Junior Forest Warden Alumni Association and the Calgary Junior Forest Warden Society.

Jumping Pound JFW Camp Volunteer Recognition Award 2011Doug McFarlane (AJFW Alumni & Calgary Eagles) was the recipient of this annual award, now in its second year. Since 2007 Doug has tirelessly contributed to make the new Jumping Pound Camp an operational success. Doug worked on the initial planning stages, the building moves (including the big JFW Hall) and the subsequent installations & Firesmart upgrades. Doug continued to work through the list of requirements, weekend after weekend in all kinds weather. His enthusiasm, skills, experience, determination and work ethic helped lead the Jumping Pound Camp project to where it is today.

Doug McFarlane, his wife Cheryl and their daughters, Nicole & Ashley have been involved with JFW since 1996.

On behalf of the JFW organization and all the families who will enjoy the Jumping Pound Camp for many years to come....Thank you Doug for your countless volunteer hours and Congratulations on your well deserved award!

History of the Carving: This carving was done circa 1967 by Paul Van Imshoot and was presented to the best “camper of the year” for the JFW summer camps, initially at Jarvis Lake. Paul Van Imshoot was an artist from Belgium, who did a lot of church restoration work after WWII prior to immigrating to Canada. Paul was involved with JFW in central Alberta in the late 60’s & early 70’s. The award was used until about 1975 and then its history became unclear. The carving was found at Long Lake Camp and returned to the AJFWA in 2009. Paul’s son Andy & his family are very pleased to see their Dad’s work in the JFW world once again. This carving was resur-rected and restored in 2010 for the AJFWA’s 50th anniversary.

Manup News

What? A three-day camp filled with fun, friends, snacks, stories and songs. Warm accommodations, meals activities and entertainment included. Friday pm until Sunday lunch.

Who? Open to all Pathfinders (grades 1-3) and Trailblazers

(grades 4-6) and their parent. No older or younger siblings

please.

When? February 3,4,5th 2012

Where? Deer Valley Meadows

www.deervalleymeadows.ca for directions. Why? This is a chance for young JFW’s from Southern Alberta to get to know one another

through games,

challenges and old-fashioned fun! How do I register? Online at www.jfwa.ca December 1st through 31st. Please follow all the instructions

THE MOST FUN YOU CAN HAVE IN THE SNOW!

SOUTHERN PT CRUISER CAMP CCAMPCAMOCAMPPTCRUISER CAMPVIVAMUS

The most fun you can have when you are a Pathfinder or Trailblazer in Junior Forest Wardens! This year our theme is the Arctic…come play with us!

The best time to play in the snow!

What will I need?

Warm outdoor gear (2 changes perhaps)

Sleeping bag/ pillow Toiletries/towel Water bottle/go-mug, if you wish Slippers or indoor shoes Clothes for crafts and games, pj’s Sled for tobogganing Wooden toboggan if you have one JFW uniform Red Shirt

(for Saturday supper) Songs, skits or jokes you would like to

share at campfire (please e-mail Shannon if you are interested in doing a skit/song so I can put you on the list!)

Shovel for shelter building

Smiles and happy attitudes

Region Details and Call for HELP!!!

The organizers of PT North 2012 (not me for a change, but I am the AJFWA liason), are putting the call out for one, possibly two, AC helpers for PT North. I will co-ordinate the AC’s on behalf of the organizers. The details are: Dates: February 24, 25, 26 Location: To be confirmed, but will likely be in Yellowhead Region Duties: - help with the set up and take down of notices/lists, help with registrations on Friday night - assist with the set up, running, take down of various programming activities - organize/lead/run campfire on Saturday night If there are any interested AC’s from across the Yellowhead, North East, or North West regions, please have them email me kirtbennett@hotmail.com (with “JFW” in the subject line) by mid-December, the following information: -Name -Club -Contact information -Skills/experience that may be of interest to the organizers (do they play an instrument, do they know how to lead any specific activities, do they have a first aid certificate, etc.) I will forward all information in to the organizers for them to make a decision, hopefully early in the New Year. Thank you, Kirt

Provincial Tree Planting Fund Competition Through the course of the last six months, the Alberta Junior Forest Warden Association (AJFWA) competed with other environmental projects in the Shell Environmental Fund - Fuelling Change initiative. In our category, we were competing for $25,000 that would go towards our Provincial Tree Planting program. Support from within the Association and beyond was inspirational and when the competition closed at the end of October, it all paid off! We placed in the top eight and will be awarded the full grant! This truly validated our emphasis on the annual Tree Planting Program, and Junior Forest Wardens as a group dedicated to environmental stewardship. Thank you for your support of this project, and of Junior Forest Wardens!

Al Wardale President Alberta Junior Forest Warden Association

PT Cruiser NorTh

Kirsten Wahlfeldt kwahlfeldt@telus.net Randi Stecyk rstecyk@pd70.ab.ca Registration Chair Haylee Kause Assistant Meagan Bouvette Cathy Webster Entertainment Chair Jenna Somerville Assistant Anne Neumann Amber-Lynn Gagne Friday Night Icebreakers Rebekah Fenner Hannah Shepherd Larissa Holub Sessions Chair Alicia Stark Assistant Alex Constanzo Sammy Nickel Site Security Chair Keith Ellison Assistant Brennan Dyer

IntroducIng your 2012 AC ConferenCe Committee

April 13-15, 2012

The committee has been selected thank you to all the applicants; your energy and enthusiasm should make this a fabulous weekend.

StAy tuned to the webSite And future treemAil for

informAtion on theme And SeSSionS offered.

AJFWA is on FACEBOOK Keep up with news and updates on Facebook!

www.facebook.com/AJFWA

Cody Howitt started JFW as a kid in 1986 with the Red Deer Woodchuck club; in 1993 he graduated High School and the JFW program. That year he received his silver honor award and in 1997 he received the $1000 Bob Skara Scholarship towards his Forestry degree. Cody received his Bachelor in Science in Forestry in 1999. He moved back to Red Deer in 2001 and started back volunteering with the Red Deer Wood-chuck club in 2004. His daughter started in 2006 and the whole family was involved in the club by 2007. He loves the outdoor adventures especially with the older groups and story telling at Camp Alexo. He first learned rock climbing in JFW and found out he loved it. He had lots of adult mentors that led him down an amazing path and credits who he is today to those JFW leaders. Cody Howitt is a treasured member of

the Red Deer Woodchuck club; he is currently the coordinator, after many years as a leader. He is also a very helpful addition to the David Thompson District JFW. His enthusiasm for the program and energy for the kids is contagious. His focus on education and leadership makes him an irreplaceable asset to JFW. Thanks Cody for all that you do!

JFW VOLUNTEER PROFILE

The Barrhead KodiaksThe Barrhead Kodiaks Junior Forest Wardens have been going for approximately 14 years. The present Co-ordinator and Leader is Leah Pierunek, 780-674-8903. The Club meets once a month, the first Monday of the Month at the Barrhead Composite High School cafeteria from 7-8 pm. We like to have one outing a month as well. We are a small group looking to expand. The Club has been like a second family. Some of our wardens and families have been members of the club for 11+ years.

Our annual fees have been approximately $70.00 per new warden and $35.00 per past returning wardens.

As a community service, our club participates each year in the local Remembrance Day Service, tree planting as well as Annual Highway Clean-up. We have also participated in the TD Canada Trust Shoreline Cleanup.

This past winter we were able to build a snow quinzee but due to the very cold weather did not get a chance to do an overnight in it. We are looking forward to taking another shot at sleeping in a snow shelter this season, let’s keep our fingers crossed.

Club ProfileNew Feature!

ACEE Alberta Council for Environmental Education

The Alberta Council for Environmental Education is a group focused on working with educators to elevate the message regarding environmental education and stewardship. The ACEE is a potential resource for new information to our members and clubs and worthy of a look!. Have a peek at their website to see what they have to offer. You can find them by linking from our website to

www.acee.org

Have you ever seen a bird in your yard munching on some berries in the fall or snacking on some blossoms in the spring? Well now you have a resource for satisfying your curiosity! National Geographic has a website called the Backyard Birdfinder. Follow the link on the website to learn all about the birds in our backyards. Go to www.jfwa.ca

Please send your Tree Mail submissions to:

Got newS you wAnt to ShAre?

Kirsten Wahlfeldt kwahlfeldt@telus.net

Starting now, Tree Mail will be coming to your inbox EVERY MONTH! You can expect it the first week of every month, therefore submissions

for the upcoming issue must be submitted before the last day of the previous month.

Mr. Tree – By Jeremy Klaszus

We know him as our elder statesman and Chief Warden Emeritus, Ernst Klaszus, and as our own Mr. Tree. A few years ago Ernst’s grandson Jeremy dedicated himself to record and tell the story of Mr. Tree’s youth, growing up in Nazi Germany. This story has been seen print-ed in the periodicals Alberta’s Views and Readers Digest, and now Jeremy’s interview and account of his grandfather Ernst Klaszus’ memories and life experiences are available in book form.

As the publisher is distributing from the US, AJFWA elected to obtain a supply of the books to make it more available to its members. Copies can be obtained from AJFWA at a cost of $12/copy including post-age, and you can order through Angie at (780) 963-1547 or juniorforestwarden.angie@gmail.com

check out the on-line store for

all your jfw needs!

order yours from the jfw store! toques are now

available for only $10!

has a funky Jfw hat caught your eye? have you seen a cosy looking new Jfw hoodie lately? Come check out the JFW Online store. You can shop 24/7 for all your basic JFW gear and lots of new items some seen at National Camp 2011.*

We are always looking for fresh new ideas so if you don’t see something you want online or you have any suggestions we want to hear from you. Send your comments to Derek Neumann at alittlej@mcs.net.

* Uniform and program material available only to club reps