Don Patterson is a passionate advocate for keeping Indigenous youth active. Conversations with Alberta-based Tour de France racer Alex Stieda and representatives from the Alberta Indigenous Games gave Patterson an idea: why not build a BMX-style cycling track for youth to enjoy? He got to work planning the construction of a track on Enoch Cree Nation.

The project opened in 2016 and required 100 loads of dirt, lots of community support and some generous donations from Canadian Tire’s Jumpstart. When the weather’s nice, you can see kids from Enoch Cree Nation riding one of the donated bikes and trying out tricks on the track. Other Indigenous communities in Alberta have expressed interest in a similar project.

Kids from Enoch don’t have to head indoors once the snow flies. This winter another donation from Jumpstart provided the youngsters with skis, boots and poles for cross-country skiing.