By Emily Kemp
“Kids these days, it’s sad — they spend so much time in front of screens that they don’t even look each other in the eye anymore,” Zuzana Riha Driediger tells me The Parks Canada artist would know. The busy mum has four kids who, aged from 11 to 24, are smack bang within the most technologically orientated generation in human history.
It’s why Riha is so passionate about the nearly-finished Beaver Lodge Bike Park project up on Mount Revelstoke, which she hopes will get youth to connect with nature, learn mountain biking skills and use the interactive stations to discover facts about local wildlife.
Riha works in a Parks Canada garage on the mountain. It’s part of an area that will soon become a 50-unit campsite, another exciting addition to the national park. Her workspace is wall-to-wall with giant sculptures of slugs, mushrooms and more. Dressed in her paint-splattered grey overalls, she is on the final push to get them finished and installed in the bike park for the grand opening on July 8, part of celebrations for Canada’s 150th birthday.
Riha is known in town for her stunning wood sculptures and carvings, and magical paintings of bears and nature, but this project is her most ambitious to date, particularly for its extensive use of concrete.
Riha is a product development officer (one of 42 nationwide) in the Mount Revelstoke visitor experience department. Her climb to this dream job happened over a number of years.
Finishing her schooling at the Emily Carr University of Art and Design in Vancouver, Riha left the city in search of nature. She got into Parks Canada where over time she took on more responsibility.
Art has always been a part of her life and now Riha utilises her hands-on skills and artistry within nature.
“I’m so lucky to have my job. I’m in my element here. I get to go to work and make stuff,” Riha said. “I’m so passionate about it. Not just creating but the end result is something I’m so excited about.”
That result is getting kids out and into nature. The bike park has taken life in the previously empty space next to the parking lot for the two- and five-kilometre bike trails and the Nels Nelson ski jump trail. It has been evolving for about three years and it is currently open for use.
The bike park’s design involved consultation with bike experts and follows International Mountain Biking Association guidelines. It challenges skills such as looking ahead, terrain variation, balance and cornering. There’s the beaver tail that slaps as you ride over it, an intertwined snail trail and a culvert cave.
There’s also a fix-it station with pump and a picnic area. Combined with the art and sculptures, it looks different from the typical utilitarian bike park.
“I wanted to make something different that is beautiful to look at,” Riha said.
Seeing the world through the eyes of children, Riha has planted a number of interactive displays throughout the park including the Who Dung It exhibit with seven different types of fake animal scat to guess from.
The final result is high quality, with Riha doing the sculptures in-house and her colleague Verena Blasy doing the interpretation. The whole effort has been a collaboration within the organisation and with local Revelstoke tradespeople and companies.
While kids might still use their tech to capture the excitement of the park and its artwork, it may also inspire others to try it.
“For me I think art is a means of communication and connection for people, and our objective is to connect people with nature,” Riha said. “Especially kids, they’re our future ambassadors. If they understand nature in its fragility, they’re going to promote that and support it.”
