A big boost for the Swift Current Wildlife Federation (SCWF) and their construction project at the Burnett Recreational Site was announced last week.

The help came in terms of a $10,000 cheque from Pattison Agriculture that will pay for a wheelchair-accessible dock to be installed later this spring.

Clark Schultz, president of the SCWF, said with the organization heavily reliant on volunteers and donations they never want to single one specific act out, but this one is an exception to that.

"When a local company is willing to step up and provide that kind of funding for a project like this, you want to see them get some recognition for it," he said. "Absolutely we're thrilled."

Construction on the dock has already begun with a few local businesses in Swift Current starting that process.

"The infrastructure underneath [the dock] is already built, the screw piles are installed," Schultz explained. "I'm going to get together with our engineer and design person this week and we're going to work on a finished design for the top of the dock."

Schultz believes they will be using cedar decking because it lasts longer and is a natural product.
The SCWF hopes to install the dock before the thaw this spring and have this part of the project complete by late April or early May.

After the dock is complete, a few big items still stand in the way including landscaping, grooming and sloping the dirt pile that was dredged out of the pond, installing the aeration system, and adding trout into the pond later on this year.

As for their target date to have the site complete by late summer of 2019, Schultz says they're still on track to hit that mark.