Business View Magazine | January 2020

329 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE JANUARY 2020 community in our region that has that type of facility. I’m happy to report that construction started this past March, the steel is going up, and we’re full steam ahead. You can now see what it looks like. “One of the things that we, as a community, are very passionate about is ensuring that we have inclusivity. This arena is designed with the utmost of accessibility standards, and will, in fact, be the only sledge hockey-friendly arena in Manitoba (Sledge hockey - also known as ice sled hockey, and sled hockey - is an adaptation of ice hockey designed for players who have a physical disability.) Even though it’s a practice rink, it’s a full NHL-size arena, except we don’t have 20,000 seating capacity – we have 600 seats on the hockey side of it. But this facility will be fully functional, as a 100-percent, sledge-hockey accessible arena. That means the area where the players are seated is actually the same surface as the ice and is designed in such a way that you can see what’s going on from your benches and slide right onto the ice.” BVM: What’s happening with regards to community development and sustainability? Harder: “I think one of the biggest things we’ve recognized over the course of the last year is the whole aspect of social connectivity, because that has become a big cornerstone. As part of our historical background, we have a park in Winkler called the Bethel Heritage Park. On the recreational side of it, we have the ball diamonds, the soccer fields. The Horticultural Society has spun off a couple of different divisions, including a butterfly garden and Parkside Pioneer Patch, where they plant flowers in old vehicles. It’s a really neat tourist attraction. “But what’s really blossomed, recently, is our Discovery Nature Sanctuary. It’s a 32-acre piece of property which facilitates the level drainage in Winkler, but we have converted it to a destination point where you can explore nature. There are all kinds of interesting creatures living WINKLER , MANI TOBA Discovery Nature Sanctuary