Columbia Basin Trust announced Thursday it is investing $1.4 million in nine outdoor community projects across the Kootenays.
New Denver’s Centennial Park will be funded $458,333 to add a lakefront gathering space, public stage and year-round public washroom.
“A welcoming outdoor space can touch upon people’s lives in so many ways,” said Will Nixon, CBT’s senior manager of delivery of benefits, in a statement.
“From adding picnic spots and fire pits, to larger structures like gazebos and stages, communities throughout the region have focused on enhancing their spaces to get people safely together outdoors, as health regulations allow.”
Two of the projects are in Rossland. The Trust will fund the RossGlen Park Revitalization Project with $130,280, adding a gazebo and landscaping to the park.
It is also funding $99,050 for the Rossland Museum and Discovery Centre’s redevelopment of its outdoor space, which will include a pavilion, sitting area and walking loop with historical and ecological information.
In Nelson, Cottonwood Falls Park will receive $204,152 for shade structures, seasonal lighting, planters, bike racks and improved accessibility to the falls.
In Kaslo, a picnic shelter will be funded $17,535, while another picnic area and fencing will be added to Johnsons Landing’s community hall area for $11,444.
Lardeau Valley Historical Society, meanwhile, will receive $5,265 to landscape its grounds.
Projects in Elkford and Invermere were also announced.