On Nov. 1 City Council passed a $2.8 million proposal to begin work on Stage I of the Great Cataraqui River Trail. Mary and Edward Farrar, the two main instigators of the project say they are very happy with City Council’s decision to back the project. Stage 1 is estimated to take up to ten years to complete.

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The first place winners in each of the categories are:

• People of all Ages Enjoy Conservation Areas- Elton Law, taken at Thornton Bales Conservation Area
• My Favourite Conservation Area- Kevin Best, taken at Webster’s Falls Conservation Area
• Wildlife is Everywhere in Conservation Areas- Dayle Hayhoe, taken at Mountsberg Conservation Area

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Here’s a peek.

If you spot one, snap it and post it on our wall. Or tweet it to us @fortyork and tell us where you found it… Let’s have some fun!

View the story here – Fort York National Historic Site.

Gutjahr said for the most up-to-date info, snowmobilers should visit the club’s website, nearnorthsnowdrifters.com, where corrections to the local trail maps have been posted. “There was a pretty significant error in the maps this year,” he said, in reference to the map posted on the Ontario Federation of Snowmobile Clubs’ website, which he said could result in a person being stranded. More….

Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation has awarded Credit Valley Conservation Foundation a $60,000 grant. This is in support of Credit Valley Conservation’s (CVC) efforts to improve wetland restoration by researching landowners’ willingness to implement restoration and/or enhancement programs on their property.

The project will provide essential information for developing an effective landowner incentive program to encourage wetland restoration in the Credit River Watershed. Research will identify preferences for compensation (either monetary or non-monetary rewards), willingness to accept compensation and preferences over implementation details.

“Wetlands are significant because they preserve water quality, provide flood and erosion control and regulate climate,” said Tatiana Koveshnikova, project coordinator of Ecological Goods and Services for CVC. “Wetlands also remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and enhancing biodiversity by creating wildlife habitat.” More…..

Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Bob Chiarelli, the senior minister for Ottawa, said the McGuinty government has had no discussions with the NCC over Greenbelt expansion but is willing to listen.

“This is an idea that has merit and certainly I am sure the province will look forward to engaging the NCC on the issue. At this point in time we’ve had no detailed discussion or structured dialogue with the NCC but certainly look forward to it,” Chiarelli said.

“We will participate on the assumption that the plan makes sense.” Read more…

The first “Wilderness & Canoeing Symposium” was a small gathering of kindred spirits who first came together to look at each other’s slides in George Luste’s living room on Albany Ave. This was in 1986.  Space was quite limited there, so when other friends heard about this gathering & wanted to participate, space was rented at George Brown College.

After a couple of years they outgrew this space & Councillor Joan King arranged space for them at the North York Council chambers. The next space they rented was at York University for a couple of years, but this location was not ideal and insurance issues caused a lot of problems.

At that point Sandy Richardson suggested Monarch Park Collegiate, where he taught.  The teachers and students at the school were a great help and the Symposium has returned to Monarch park every year since then.

The Planning Committee for Trailhead Ontario is pleased to announce that tickets for the event are on sale. We use the service – Eventbrite – so booking your preferred attendance has never been easier! Pick from a Full Conference and Education package, which includes all sessions, meals and coffee, to single day Conference or Education.

Or if this event is about raising your profile with government, other trail organizations, or tourism, select from a range of booth spaces, coffee break support, table rentals or mentions from hte podium as a Trailhead Ontario Supporter. We look forward to seeing you in June in Oxford County! Simply click on hte Register Badge on the top right of any Trailhead Ontario web page! Thanks

CTF Website CTF Blog CTF Facebook CTF Twitter

The Canadian Trails Federation is a united voice for trails throughout Canada which will link communities and meet the needs of diverse cultures and trail users for their outdoor recreation and healthy living. La Fédération canadienne des sentiers est une voix unie pour les sentiers à travers le Canada, qui permettra de relier les communautés et répondre aux besoins des diverses cultures et les utilisateurs des sentiers pour leurs loisirs et la vie saine.

We thank the CTF for its ongoing support and the richness of discussion and learning that will take place through their delegates participation at Trailhead Ontario. Merci.

The Windsor-Essex Parkway is an 11-kilometre addition to Highway 401, connecting to the Windsor-Detroit border, Canada’s busiest border crossing. The parkway’s design consists of a six-lane below-grade freeway and a four-lane service road network which is an extension of Highway 3 to eliminate stop-and-go traffic.

The project has more than 300 acres of green space, 20 km of recreational trails, and new community connections. Major construction began in late summer 2011 and the parkway is expected to open to traffic in fall 2014.

This project is expected to support and create an estimated 12,000 project-related jobs in Ontario, with the majority in the Windsor-Essex region. Preparations for border improvements supported over 2,000 jobs in 2011, with 96 per cent of Windsor-Essex Parkway sub-contracts awarded to local companies.

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