By Steve Hubrecht
After nearly a year of the position sitting vacant, the District of Invermere finally has a new environmental planner.
Amy Fletcher began in the role the first week of June, and has already sunk her teeth into a number of initiatives.
Fletcher is Australian, but is no stranger to the Columbia Valley. She spent three winters as a snowboard instructor at Panorama Mountain Resort starting in 2010. Fletcher left Canada, became an environmental scientist and outdoor educator, started a family, and by a quirk of fate, returned to the Columbia Valley last year, almost a decade after she first left.
She grew up in a surfing and sailing family in Adelaide, capital of South Australia, and credits that initial — and constant — exposure to the outdoors with fostering an environmental ethic in her at a young age.
“We were always, always by the ocean. Surfing, sailing, swimming. I didn’t realize it at the time, but it was a connection to nature and it was always there. Through that I learned the idea of leaving the environment in a better state than when I found it,” Fletcher told the Pioneer.
After those winters at Panorama, Fletcher went to university (three universities, actually — Flinders University, Charles Darwin University, and the University of Tasmania), successively collecting an environmental science degree; a teaching degree; and a post grad diploma in sustainability and waste management.
Collectively “that opened up the door to some fun things,” said Fletcher. She worked as an outdoor educator for a while before she and her partner Charlie decided to spend a few years travelling around Australia and living out of a van, both picking up work (or working remotely) along the way. It was a time to remember, both professionally and personally. There was the red sand deserts of Western Australia bordering white sand beaches and the world famous Ningaloo Reef (which Fletcher describes as “an underwater rainforest”) at Exmouth; wide-open horizons; and the towering old growth trees of Tasmania. Fletcher worked various gigs along the way including helping a school develop a waste management plan; and consulting for waste management companies.
She and Charlie became a trio when their daughter Joanie was born two and a half years ago.
This gave new depth and meaning to Fletcher’s environmental outlook on life. “We always talk about how we are leaving the earth for the next generation. But when you have that next generation literally right in front of you, you think ‘this is the person I want to make it better for’,’ said Fletcher.
Life started to seem a bit more settled in Australia, but then a job opportunity came up for Charlie — a heavy duty mechanic — that required him to be based in Canada.
“I didn’t think I’d end up back in Canada, but when that came up, I said ‘Oh, I know a place’,” recalled Fletcher. “When I first came to Invermere, back in 2010, I was drawn by what draws most of the Australians here — the mountains and the ski fields. They are mind blowing compared with what we have in Australia. But what drew us back was the people, the connection and the friendships.”
Fletcher had several good friends from her time at Panorama still living in the Columbia Valley. When Charlie was offered the Canadian job, Fletcher immediately reached out to those friends. Was Invermere still the same awesome, outdoorsy, community-minded town she remembered? Of course, her friends replied. Soon she, Charlie and Joanie were headed across the Pacific to a home that was new to them as a family, but very familiar to Fletcher.
“Ski towns can be transient. But when you decide to stay in Invermere, you start to realize it’s not just a great place, it’s a great place and a great community, winter and summer,” said Fletcher. “You are surrounded by people who share the same values — love of the outdoors, sense of community — that you have. That’s the kind of thing that makes you want to cross an ocean with a toddler.”
Fletcher and family arrived in Invermere in May 2023. Last winter Fletcher relived her past, working as a snowboard instructor at Panorama again, and loved it. But when she learned the district was looking for an environmental planner, it was an opportunity too good to pass up (even for another winter as snowboard instructor).
“I was very excited to get the job,” Fletcher told the Pioneer. “It’s a great fit for me.”
So far she’s been involved in the district’s plan to switch from its current recycling program — the Regional District of East Kootenay (RDEK) operated ‘yellow bin program’ — to a Recycle BC-led program, starting this coming November, and is also working on Invermere’s efforts to establish curbside compost and organic waste collection.
“It’s been on the agenda in Invermere for a while now,” said Fletcher, of the composting. “The idea is to keep food waste out of landfills . . . I’m very passionate about it.”
Other initiatives Fletcher has on her plate at the moment include expanding electric vehicle charging options in the Columbia Valley; and creating Sustainable Invermere Facebook and Instagram pages to raise awareness, outline projects, educate the public, and offer practical tips on reducing waste.
