People in Saskatoon gathered Saturday for Keep Meewasin Vital day.

The designation was declared by the city, using the same name as the campaign that was launched this summer in support of the Meewasin Valley Authority.

The group has been collecting signatures on a letter of support, worried that the MVA might lose its provincial funding.

Due to a freeze in funding from the provincial government, the MVA shut down its interpretive centre in July.

Lorna Shaw-Lennox, one of the cofounders of the group, said they've collected 2,000 signatures so far this summer.

"When we went out and talked to people at events and asked for signatures face to face, that's when we found out that Meewasin has almost been too successful … it has done such a good job that people just take it for granted."

Keep Meewasin Vital cofounder Lorna Shaw-Lennox said a lot of people have taken the Meewasin Valley Authority for granted. (Marc-Antoine Belanger/CBC)

Shaw-Lennox said the campaign has been an eye-opener for her and she hopes it will be the same for the provincial government.

Part of the day's events included a fun run organized by the Saskatoon Road Runners Association (SRRA).

"The plan was just to show support," said Peter Goode, president of the association.

"Meewasin is vital to us and we want to be part of the movement because a lot of our events are on the trail system, or runners use the trail systems all the time," he said. "I've personally been on every inch of the trail system and it's amazing how long it is. So we wanted to show our support of that."

Shaw-Lennox said they will continue to collect signatures — in person and online — until Sept. 17, to give enough time to prepare their submission for when the Legislative Assembly starts in October.