The file consists of newspaper articles documenting the creation of Coquitlam Search and Rescue (SAR), a volunteer inland water, wilderness and urban search and rescue team Cunnings helped develop. It was originally formed in 1972 as a result of a search on Burke Mountain by North Shore Rescue and the Coquitlam RCMP detachment because there was no local team beforehand. The file also includes photocopies of images depicting these events and SAR's development.

The series documents the activities that Cunnings was involved with and led during his tenure at the District of Coquitlam Parks and Recreation Department and the development of the Department over time.

The series is arranged into files according to subject, and consists of textual records, photographs, ephemera, and newspaper clippings detailing sports, recreational programs and classes, parks and facility development, and events and initiatives undertaken by the Department, such as BC Summer Games, and Coquitlam Centennial celebrations.

The fonds consists of records created and accumulated by Don Cunnings, documenting his involvement in sport and recreation in Coquitlam. The archivist arranged the fonds into three series. One series documents the activities of Cunnings during his tenure at the District of Coquitlam Parks and Recreation Department. The second series consists of personal and professional records accumulated by Cunnings, documenting his various professional positions for reference and posterity. The third series consists of photographs and other media.

The records include photographs, newspaper clippings, newsletters, correspondence, recorded documentaries, three scrapbooks, and assorted textual records and ephemera.

The file consists of records related to the police, fire, and emergency rescue services by the City of Coquitlam, with a significant portion of the file covering the assignment of Coquitlam's first police dog, Deka. The records are composed of newspaper articles, personnel rosters and certificates.

The series consists of records created and accumulated by Cunnings and reflect his personal and professional interests. These records were accumulated by Cunnings for the purposes of reference and posterity rather than documenting the activities of the District of Coquitlam Parks and Recreation Department during his tenure.

The personal records consist of a letter of appointment as well as a selection of documentaries used by Cunnings as reference. His professional records contain photographs, ephemera, and correspondence generated in the course of Cunnings' positions as a gymnastics teacher at Our Lady of Lourdes, the Division Head of Essondale's Crease Clinic Recreation Therapy Department, and as a founding member of Coquitlam Search and Rescue (SAR).