Commitment to Our Members
The NSMBA is committed to being aligned with our members and community; we are here to advocate for you and for a network of sustainable mountain bike trails. We are driven and anchored by our constitution, and have taken several internal steps over recent weeks to collectively revisit this to ensure that we are clear and united on our purpose.
Over the past few weeks, you have shared varying perspectives with us on our recent communications that have made it crystal clear you want us to communicate with more transparency and engagement on the NSMBA’s mission, how we operate, and what we are achieving on your behalf. We hear you and we commit to doing better. The 2025 Board of Directors convened for the first time in mid-January, and with fresh minds and insights comes an opportunity to move forward with a fresh perspective.
In our last correspondence of 24th Jan, we offered our apologies for the past several weeks, and clarified our position. Here, as a next step to regain and keep your trust, we reinforce our mission and commit to a future of improved communication and engagement with you.
What we’ll do
- Provide better insights into how the society and the BoD operate, including information about our specialist sub-committees.
- Share regular updates on what the staff and BoD are spending time on, including special projects, land manager discussions, and new trails we’re advocating for.
- Continue to meet monthly as a full BoD and staff, at least monthly for each sub-committee, and more frequently as needed.
- We’ve established a new public relations sub-committee for 2025, tasked to lead in our external correspondence.
- Promote increased opportunities for facetime with NSMBA representatives. This could look like designated rides with Directors, open meetings, and trailhead popups.
- Leverage the power of community action and collective advocacy for instances where we need your help.
- Share with you our strategic goals for 2025, driven by our constitution. We’re currently finalizing these, and aim to communicate them with you before the end of February.
- Provide a retrospective of our 2024 successes and challenges in March.
- Improve our promotion of our community events as fun and engaging opportunities for you to get involved in the NSMBA’s activities, and help us make a difference!
How we’ll listen to & engage you
You are valued and relevant voices to mountain biking on the North Shore, and your passionate engagement over recent weeks has reinforced that. We welcome this participation and encourage it to continue.
Here are some opportunities for your contributions to our collective mission to be heard by us:
- Your feedback via our Members Survey, which we expect to release in the Spring.
- Come chat with us at one of our community events, e.g. trail days and Fivers, or when you see our NSMBA banner at a trailhead.
- We’ll continue to encourage you to take part in any surveys or stakeholder discussions released by our land managers.
- We’ll open applications in March for relevant expertise to sit on some of our sub-committees.
- Email us with thoughts and suggestions at info@nsmba.ca.
- Include the NSMBA in your emails to local officials to advocate for increased sanctioned mountain bike infrastructure on our mountains.
We recognise that the NSMBA has a long way to go to regain your trust, and we are committed to that hard work. Together, we’ll continue to improve and expand the North Shore’s official and sustainable trail network.
Trails for All. Trails Forever.
Steve Lionas – President, Board of Directors
Deanne Cote – Executive Director