Russell-Binscarth making community more age friendly

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This article was published 22/02/2024 (574 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Age Friendly Committee of Russell-Binscarth continues its work to make the community a better place to live for people of all ages as part of the Age Friendly Manitoba Initiative. The group recently received a grant from Age Friendly Manitoba of $10,000 to help them in their endeavours.

As the Sun previously reported, Age Friendly Manitoba was launched in 2008 through the Manitoba government to help older adults remain active, healthy, and independent, to contribute to their families and communities.

Currently, there are 229,050 Manitobans aged 65 or older, which is 17 per cent of the population. Of that group, 29,255 are aged 85 or older.

On a national scale, the number of people aged 85 and older has doubled since 2001, with predictions that the number could triple by 2046, according to Statistics Canada.

The Russell-Binscarth group, located in the municipality that lies 183 kilometres northwest of Brandon, was created in 2011 and held a community consultation meeting the following year, where several areas that were already Age Friendly at the time were identified with other areas that could be improved. The group renewed its commitment to become more age friendly through a municipal resolution in 2021.

“At that time our small committee was formed, and we were very fortunate to be involved in a study by a group of master’s students from the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Manitoba,” Marg Fraser, the committee chair, said in an email sent to the Sun.

The students worked with the committee and then provided them with a detailed project summary of innovative ideas identifying opportunities and strengths within the municipality. A public meeting was held in April of 2023 where two facilitators from the Manitoba Association of Senior Communities (MASC) led the attendees through small group exercises to identify strengths and opportunities that would strengthen the committee’s Age Friendly approach, allowing accessibility for all residents within the municipality.

”During our Public Age Friendly Workshop Meeting on April 25, 2023, it was identified that one of our opportunities was to improve our walking paths and downtown areas, allowing people to stop, rest and visit while out and about in our municipality,” Fraser said.

Age Friendly Manitoba 2.0 was recently launched by MASC to support healthy aging and social inclusion of older Manitobans. The Russell-Binscarth Age Friendly Committee was successful in attaining Milestone Recognition and an additional $25,00 grant last month, which Fraser says reflects a strong community commitment to collaboration and action. The $10,000 grant came from the Age Friendly Community Collaboration Grant Application.

Projects the $10,000 will go towards include four concrete round tables with three benches, two for Binscarth, one of which will be placed at the Binscarth Toboggan Slide and the other at the library where hot dog Thursdays are hosted every week during the summer, and two in Russell at sites yet to be determined.

Two more concrete benches will be placed by the walking trail on the Binscarth Golf Course, a concrete fire pit with a grate and cover will be placed beside the concrete round table at the Binscarth Toboggan Slide, and a large, public, enclosed and secure bulletin board will be located outside the Russell Multiplex and kept current by the recreation director.

“Our Age Friendly Committee identified partners to collaborate with on this project (non-monetary) and were very pleased with the positive response from all of [them],” Fraser said. The partners include the Municipality of Russell-Binscarth, the Binscarth & Russell Lions Clubs, Binscarth Vision 20/20 and Gambler First Nation.

“Recently, we have had a Manitoba Métis Federation representative also join our Age Friendly Committee who is very excited to also partner with us for the betterment of our municipality,” Fraser said.

These projects will be completed next spring, once the ground can be prepared. The cement tables, benches and fire pit have been ordered for delivery this spring and the local carpenter will be secured to construct the bulletin board in front of the Russell Multiplex, Fraser said. If there is any deficit in funding, it will be covered by the Age Friendly committee.

Fraser and the committee hope that the project will lead to upgraded accessibility for all ages, enhanced intergenerational connections, increased opportunities for resting, walking, socializing, and enjoying family outings, celebrations, and a strengthened community partnership between the Town of Russell, the Village of Binscarth, the rural municipality and Gambler First Nation.

“[It’s] possibly the start of a stronger, positive amalgamation of our Municipality of Russell-Binscarth and our neighbouring community of Gambler First Nation in future age friendly projects,” she said. “Partnership is essential for positive outcome for all ages and our community is committed to a future of healthy, active aging for all.”

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