Wild Pacific Trail

The Wild Pacific Trail in the District of Ucluelet is a protected area of old growth forest located on the west side of Vancouver Island BC Canada.

Open to the public are a series of trails along the coastline, some so close to the Pacific Ocean you will feel the spray from the sea as it crashes onto the rocky shoreline. There is always activity on the water throughout the year with spectacular “storm watching” during the winter months and the humbling views of gentle giants breaking the waters surface from May through September.

The system of trails have been developed to have a minimal impact on the forest and shoreline environment and all the work has been done by dedicated volunteers, now under the umbrella of The Wild Pacific Trail Society.  The Society is a registered non-profit organization. All monies received are allocated towards trail enhancement, promotion and further trail construction. Funds are raised by various means, one of which is the purchase of a MacKay Concrete Bench that you will see placed along the trail in a variety of beautiful viewing spots.

 

MacKay Precast Products are proud to work with the Society providing a sturdy resting place for travellers along the Trail who pause to drink in the wonders of nature around them.

Calgary Stampede 2014

The Calgary Stampede - July 4-13, 2014 - "The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth".
When we hear our friends and neighbours talking about attending the Calgary Stampede, the image of cowboys in stetsons, boots with spurs, cattle and bucking broncos come to mind. The stampede is all these things and so much more. The earliest origins of this Alberta gathering began in 1886 but became an annual event in 1923. It has been growing in size and excitement every year since. There are the early morning breakfasts. the fabulous 2.5 mile parage down the streets of Calgary, the Rodeo and all its events, evening shows with Concert Headliners and the friendly residents all working together to give visitors the best Western time they ever could imagine. This is no small task with nearly 1/2 million visitors attending annually.
The not to be missed SAM (Stampede Agriculture Museum) is a Western Interpretive Centre which houses the Stampede archives, galleries and a museum. This is an indepth history of the Stampede and the pioneers of Southern Alberta.
This year MacKay Precast Products are happy to be supplying the Stampede grounds with a variety of exposed aggregate concrete planters, bike racks and ashstands.
See you at the Stampede.

Saturna Island

- A picturesque little island off Victoria BC with a clear eco-system, hiking trails by Parks Canada and bike trails throughout the island. Enjoy the majestic views of Mount Baker, the tranquil Georgia Strait and a productive vineyard.  Saturna is a wonderful place to get away from it all, with your choice of accommodation ranging from B&B to cottage to lodge. The summer season entertains visitors with Parks Canada interpreters, wine samplings and Festivals.

MacKay Precast Products have just manufactured and installed 10 new picnic tables with Western Red Cedar planks for the Winter Cove day use area and boat launch to be utilized by visitors and residents alike.

For more information on Saturna Island visit www.hellobc.com/Saturna

New BC Parks Picnic Table

MacKay Precast Products manufactured and installed 100 newly designed concrete picnic tables at Golden Ears and Rathtrevor Provincial Parks between September and November 2011.  These tables were specially designed for BC Parks in a style to encourage individuals with mobility issues to access more of the beautiful parkland available free to the public. The tables have seperate seating not attached to the table base therefore eliminating a possible tripping hazard for young children and others who found it difficult to step over the table leg. The unique design includes textured and coloured concrete as well as and imbedded BC Parks logo. The original Western Red Cedar used for previous picnic table top & seats are being reused on the new tables. Look for the new tables at Golden Ears Park in Maple Ridge or Rathtrevor Park in Parksville BC

Anti-graffit Sealer

Graffiti "artists" create beautiful work to improve the appearance of  plain unattended wall spaces usually at the request of the walls owner. Graffiti vandals do not fit into this category but choose to deface  property at a huge cost to private and public owners for removal and repair. There are now very good "Anti-graffit"  sealers which can be applied to concrete which lessen the cost and time spent removing unwanted graffiti.

Eco-Friendly Concrete

"Environmentally Friendly" is a loose term used in maketing to inform consumers about attributes of a specific product or service that has an environmental benefit with little or no impact on the native ecosystem, is an alternative to goods produced with chemicals or synthetics or is positive in terms of its impact on the environment.
Concrete has its nay sayers but there are changes in the industry which make concrete a more desireable product.
CONCRETE SUBSTITUTES: A new promising green concrete said to be highly sustainable is high volume flyash concrete. Flyash is a coal burning power plant by-product which historically 75% of the ash produced ended up in landfills. Science has now found recycled flyash forms a compound similar to Portland cement when mixed with lime and water. High volume flyash can displace more than 25% of the cementitious content in a mix design. Flyash concrete has been difficult to source but with increased demand there are more producers and distributors working to rectify this problem.  In time other new substitutes such as Ash Crete, Blast Furnace Slag and Carbon Concrete, which are all showing promise to make concete a more eco-friendly product , may become more widely available.