Another hole-in-one for HeroWork

A member of the Canadian Armed Forces installs a new roof during a HeroWork Radical Renovation at the site of the former Prospect Lake Golf Club. Military and civilian volunteers built a campsite for Victoria-based non-profit Power To Be. Photo by JW Penner, John’s Photography

Peter Mallett, Staff Writer ~

Members of CFB Esquimalt’s workforce were an integral part of the crew that turned the recently closed Prospect Lake Golf Course into an inclusive recreational hub for people with physical, mental, or financial barriers.

More than 60 base employees tightened their work belts laden with tools and worked alongside more than 300 HeroWork Society volunteers July 7 and 16, to turn former Honorary Captain (Navy) Cedric Steele’s 78-acre parcel of land into a summertime oasis.

“My family and I made the decision not to subdivide our land for development but to put it to good use to help the community,” says Steele.

The project was organized by the HeroWork Society for another Victoria-based charity Power To Be, who will run the property and provide participants access to nature-based adventures.

Personnel from 19 Wing Comox and the Bay Street Armoury were also among the pool of volunteers who successfully completed the project, one that HeroWork Executive Director, Paul Latour dubs a “Radical Renovation.”

A long list of upgrades and building projects were completed over the 10 days, including the construction of raised bed camping platforms, a full renovation of two existing structures and their conversion into an education centre and a storage building, a built-from-scratch storage facility for kayak and paddling equipment, two toilet enclosures, a kilometre of pathway and roadways, and extensive landscaping with tee boxes, sand traps, gardens, and fencing.

Captain Joe Welsh, a Transportation Officer with Base Logistics, put in multiple full day’s work at the site.

“Base Logistics is keen on supporting initiatives like this because it gives us a chance to give back to the community while allowing employees to see the immediate results of their efforts, and the positive impact that it is having on the community,” he says.

Steele, 73, still lives on the scenic property located at the south end of the fresh-water lake located in Saanich. He says an experience early in his life was one of the big reasons he and his family offered up the site to Power To Be. Steele was born and raised in South Africa, but suffered from Polio in his childhood that affected his shoulder; he was later admitted to a convalescent house to recover.

“My recovery in that convalescent house was spent with a number of special needs children and I promised myself at that point in my life that if I could ever help children with special needs I would,” he says.

To cap off their work on the campsite, Latour and HeroWork held a big reveal July 19 that included food and music.

Next up for the HeroWork Society is a renovation on Anawin House, a community organization that provides support for Victoria’s street community. For more information about HeroWork visit their website www.herowork.com.