Off Duty: Members After Hours
On a historic 30-acre ranch just outside Invermere, BCNU East Kootenay region member Tracy Gadsby has a busy day-to-day schedule. In addition to her nursing work, she is restoring the ranch with a focus on sustainability.
The ranch, named Karmax, has historic ties to the Columbia Valley. According to Gadsby, the main house, built in 1909, was once home to mountaineer Elizabeth MacCarthy, one of the region’s first female climbers. Conrad Kain, an Austrian mountaineer known for many of the first mountain ascents in Western Canada, also lived on the ranch for a period.
“I feel a deep sense of responsibility to keep the connection to the area alive in a way that honours the ranch’s past and history while also looking toward the future,” says Gadsby.
Alongside her husband, who is a carpenter, Gadsby purchased the ranch at the beginning of 2020 after eyeing the property for years. It has a vineyard, a garden and a variety of animals like chickens, rabbits and working dogs. She says they are hoping to raise sheep too.
“I always had a dream to have lots of property and space,” says Gadsby. “I love animals and being connected to the land.”
Some of the sustainable infrastructure they’ve built on the land includes a chicken coop with its own rainwater collection source and composting.
Long-term, Gadsby and her husband hope to open Karmax Ranch to visitors for eco-tourism and education, envisioning a place where people can enjoy the land and learn how to live self-sufficiently.
“It’s not just about preserving the land,” says Gadsby. “It’s about restoring it, living in a balance and creating something lasting for the future.”
Ranch life is very rewarding, says Gadsby, but it’s not without its challenges. There are no days off, no matter the weather, and there are no town amenities. Wildlife like bears and coyotes also frequent the area. To deal with these challenges, Gadsby says it’s important to always be aware.
“Just like nursing, ranch life requires problem solving,” she says.
Gadsby graduated in 2014 from the inaugural two-year LPN program at the College of the Rockies in Cranbrook, BC. She worked as a care aide before becoming a nurse.
She is a worksite steward at Invermere Health Centre. She also works in a temporary role in the emergency department at East Kootenay Regional Hospital.
As a member of the Nurses’ Bargaining Association Provincial Bargaining Committee, she wants to bring community and rural voices to the forefront of discussions about working conditions.
“I’ve seen the challenges nurses face, and I joined to advocate for safe, fair and sustainable working conditions,” says Gadsby.
“Rural nurses can be so isolated. We don’t always have the resources that are available in bigger cities. We are expected to do more with less. You have to be creative and think fast.”
UPDATE (Summer 2025)