The Morrin Historical Park and Sod House Society are proposing to establish a campground within the Village.
The society sent a proposal to Starland County to establish a campground on the County’s railway right of way property. This would consist of 10 to 12 sites directly south of the former ATCO Office site.
“If the campground is established, the Society then will assist in operating and maintaining it and would request the County provide them with a portion of the revenues earned in return,” it noted in its proposal to Starland County.
The proposal is for the Society to design and help prepare the camping sites, donate the clay base material for each drive-thru site, donate mature trees to be re-established at this site, be responsible for the operation of this campsite.
The County would be responsible for applying for a development permit from the Village of Morrin, stripping the grass from each of the proposed sites, supplying the gravel, firepits, and picnic tables for each of the sites, a garbage bin, and signage.
Starland County CAO Shirley Bremer said Starland Council agreed to lend them the area if the Village of Morrin allowed the development.
“The County submitted a Development Permit on behalf of this group (as we are the landowners) and it is presently waiting for approval or refusal from the Village. It is the Village’s responsibility to approve or refuse it and to advertise it with their residents.
She explains the committee is looking at developing a regular income stream. They are in the process of setting up a new museum in the Old United Church as well as keeping up the sod house. The new museum could provide them a facility that can keep the artefacts safe from the elements. They need the revenue to pay for utilities as well as set up the museum and do maintenance.
“There is also a second component of supporting the Village. The Sod House and Church Museum may draw visitors into Morrin, they could camp overnight, maybe they will spend some money at the store or hotel, and this could help the town.”
“I don’t know if they will be successful or not, but I do admire their drive and determination to develop something to improve the Village and make some money on it, as well for their group. This group of volunteers has shown us ‘how to get things done’ in the past, as they have built two sod houses now as well as a clay oven and preserved many artefacts at the Sod House Park,” said Bremer.
“I applaud this volunteer group for their efforts to not only preserve some of the Morrin area’s rich heritage but to also try to beautify the Village and hopefully bring more visitors to the town.”

There has been ongoing outcry from Drumheller and area residents about designs for dikes and berms along the Red Deer River.
One concern in particular is the proposed use of these flood mitigation systems for walking paths and biking trails, and how large the berms will be to accommodate a path or trail.
“Much of our flood mitigation is now as a result of the controlled flow via Dickson Dam,” Red Deer Councillor Lawrence Lee told the Mail.
Drumheller, being downstream of Dickson Dam and the City of Red Deer, also benefits from controlled flow at the dam. This was crucial during the flood event of 2005, though dike and berm structures also provided further protection to the community.
In Northern Alberta the Town of Peace River is another river community familiar with flood events-most recently in April 2020 due to ice jams on the Peace River. To help protect the community against future flood events, a continuous dike system was established throughout the town, with approximately six kilometres of fully paved trail developed along this system.
“Our dike trail has become a very popular attraction offering a paved multi-use path along the river,” says Communications Coordinator Autumn Hulme. She adds the dike system is designed to accommodate flood events, including 1 in 100 year floods.
In the May 12 edition of the Mail, Chief Resiliency and Flood Mitigation Officer Darwin Durnie explained segments of the flood mitigation systems would be paved with more use of these areas possible in the future.
Final berm designs for the Town of Drumheller have not yet been released at this time.