New parks naming policy

Some parks in the Regional District of Central Okanagan (RDCO) may be undergoing name changes after a more than four-decade-old policy was updated.

The RDCO board has approved a new parks naming, renaming and dedications policy which refreshes legislation from 1979 and provides options for pre-colonial Indigenous place naming, renaming and dual naming in regional and RDCO community parks.

It also clarifies the process for the board to consider new park names and proposals for renaming parks.

Since 2014, the RDCO and Westbank First Nation have agreements for managing Black Mountain – sntsk‘il’ntən Regional Park and the protection and conservation of cultural sites in regional parks.

Over the past 12 years, RDCO Parks Services has actively been engaged with syilx/Okanagan communities in the dual naming of select trails in regional parks.