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Ontario boasts over 80,000 km in trails. Whether you're in downtown Toronto or North of Superior, we have a trail for you. The Ontario Trails Council is a registered charity, led by volunteers who promote the development, management, use and conservation of Ontario's trails. You'll find everything from gentle walking trails to rock faces for climbing and water routes to canoe and kayak.
Wednesday, September 23, 2015
Tuesday, September 22, 2015
Sunday, September 20, 2015
Ontario Trails news - Hike Ontario Summit, Trailhead Ontario 2016
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Hike Ontario
Renfrew County and Ontario Highlands Tourism Organization agree to host Trailhead Ontario 2016 Planning has begun for Trailhead Ontario 2106. Our hosts are Renfrew County and Ontario Highlands Tourism Organization. Both are long time Ontario Trails Council supporters, and Jason Davies from Renfrew sits on the OTC Board of Directors. The OHTO has been a long time partner with trails running such campaigns as the: ‘Tourism Starts with You’ Campaign
The ‘Tourism Starts with You’ campaign is designed to bring the local community together to identify why Ontario’s Highlands is one of the premiere travel destinations in the province.
The campaign will ask the question, “what are the best things to see and do in the area”, and tourism operators, residents, former visitors, and the like will be able to submit their ideas to the OHTO’s website, and social media channels, such as Facebook and Twitter. This campaign will be promoted online and through local media, and a grand prize will be offered to encourage submissions. This campaign will run into the summer, and may extend to the end of 2011 based on its popularity and success. When the campaign is completed, the OHTO will have an increased online audience, as well as heightened knowledge of what destinations are most valued by the local population. This can assist with future promotions. A page capture from their website illustrates many of the outdoor and trail activities going on in the region |
Saturday, September 19, 2015
Ontario Trails news - Accessibility Communications Guide for Trails. Summer Fun Guide and more!
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Friday, September 18, 2015
Ontario Trails News - Healthy Hikes, Conservation Ontario, Conservation Act and more about Ontario's trails
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Please consider supporting our work
Please consider making a donation or taking out a membership today! We rely on the generous support of the Canadian trail community to allow us to do our work. Our Mission - to promote the preservation, management, use and development of trails. Everyday, somewhere in Ontario we educate, support a group, lead or assist a community improving its quality of life through trails. Thanks Need Funding? - Here's a list of where to turn Often we hear from trail groups - most recently TRCA, G2G, Elgin County and Lennox and Addington who want to develop trails, but there is no strategic or business plan in place. Most grants develop programs and services or fund service provision. We want to hear from you - where did you get funding for your strategic plan for your trails? Could include master plan or other plans that involve trails. Thanks. 613-484-1140 execdir@ontariotrails.ca
National Trails Coalition - infrastructure (closed) - but reviewing their grant app would get your docs prepped for a different application
Ontario Trillium Foundation - 4 streams, including capital
There are a number of provincial grant applications you could explore but you have to be registered with the Grants Ontario System to see the applications by Ministry - closed till next round - see the website for more details.
MEDIE - has a stream - more for eco development, and the Invest in Ontario Funds - I might suggest regional funding streams includes Southern Ontario Prosperity and NOHFC programs
Also the Federal Enabling Accessibility Fund - Eligible Grant Recipients Include:
Not-for-profit organizations; Small businesses; Aboriginal organizations (including band councils, tribal councils and self-government entities); Territorial governments; and, Municipalities are eligible to submit an application only for projects that deliver activities under Priority #1 (enhancing access to recreational spaces for children with disabilities).
Indigenous Peoples Aboriginal Economic Development Fund - grant stream
Great Lakes Guardian Fund - Grants are available for projects that take place in Ontario within the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River Basin. This includes: Lake Superior, Lake Huron, Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, the St. Lawrence River, the Ottawa River, their connecting channels, and their watersheds. This guide includes a map to help you identify your watershed. https://www.ontario.ca/page/great-lakes-guardian-community-fund#section-7
There are other infrastructure grants you could pursue through the relationships you have with the County - they can use gas tax surplus for infrastructure grants -
Cycling Funds CycleON Strategy
Building cycling infrastructure is important in helping us achieve the vision of #CycleON: Ontario's Cycling Strategy: Ontario as a great place to ride a bike.
http://news.ontario.ca/mto/en/2015/04/ontario-investing-25-million-in-cycling-infrastructure.html
http://news.ontario.ca/mto/en/2015/07/applications-for-funding-to-promote-cycling-now-open.html
OMAFRA also offers a long list - you'll have to pick a stream and discuss with a program manager
Support the Kinghorn Trail Development Last fall we started an audit of the rail corridor. This audit captures the good, the bad and the ugly. Using the latest trail auditing software, we are able to capture all the issues that need to be fixed prior to opening the trail. We will finish the audit in the spring for the full length of the line. Please support us in building this legacy trail along Lake Superior. Even a small donation adds up and supports the capital required to upgrade the corridor for Northwestern Ontario's only rail trail! We have plans to upgrade the railbed surface to accommodate trail users like cyclists, hikers, summer motorized use and snowmobiles in the winter months. As a full multi-use trail, we will be able to keep the trail in the public domain for future generations to enjoy. The rail line doesn't stop at Nipigon but then turns north towards Greenstone. There has been some interest in discussing this as an option but conversations need to occur. Please support this legacy project as we create an amazing trail alongside Lake Superior - the great inland sea. Healthy Hikes Program! |
Thursday, September 17, 2015
Ontario Trails News - OTC AGM, Meeting with Minister Coteau, Equestrian Event
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Conservation Authorities Act Review
With thanks to Beth Potter, Executive Director of Tourism Industry Association of Ontario who brought this to our attention. We will be working together and with our CA members to craft our best comments.
Ontario Trails Council - AGM, User Meeting and Meeting with Minister Coteau
Ontario Trails AGMPlans are underway for the Ontario Trails Council AGM, September 24th 2015. The meeting will be held at the same location as 2014, the Faculty Club at McMaster University. Meeting with Minister Coteau As the lead organization for trails in Ontario, it's important we meet with the lead Minister for Trails, Minister Michael Coteau. We have a meeting scheduled for September 30th. We encourage you to assist us in making better trails through partnership with government by:
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Wednesday, September 16, 2015
Ontario Trails News - Kelso Cycling and Trailhead Ontario 2016 supported by Renfrew County
Find and use your favorite today!Halton Conservation Kelso Trails offer cycling event Kelso MTB Festival on Saturday September 12th. The 14 km course is scenic and very enjoyable but not too tough. Our goal is to offer an event that is accessible for all mountain bikers regardless of their experience or fitness level (for more avid riders, we offer 28 km and 42 km distances). There will be no timing chips. Our motto is that “it is more important to have a good time than post a good time”.
With are over 22 km of scenic trails for off-road mountain biking at Kelso, cyclist will quickly discover a great variety of terrain that offers a little bit of everything. The Kelso MTB Fondo will lead you over a gorgeous 14 km route weaving through the dense forest, across the Niagara escarpment and spectacular trails that make Kelso one of Southern Ontario’s premier mountain biking destinations!
The event offers a nice combination of great trails quite close to the GTA, a complimentary BBQ, a free beer and a full scale festival expo with over 40 exhibitors. The website is www.mtbfondo.ca. Please feel free to register with my personal discount code MM50 to save 50%. Registration is just $27.50 after the discount. Here is a quick preview of the course https://vimeo.com/136616839 I hope to see you in September! Renfrew County and Ontario Highlands Tourism Organization agree to host Trailhead Ontario 2016 Planning has begun for Trailhead Ontario 2106. Our hosts are Renfrew County and Ontario Highlands Tourism Organization. Both are long time Ontario Trails Council supporters, and Jason Davies from Renfrew sits on the OTC Board of Directors. The OHTO has been a long time partner with trails running such campaigns as the: ‘Tourism Starts with You’ Campaign
The ‘Tourism Starts with You’ campaign is designed to bring the local community together to identify why Ontario’s Highlands is one of the premiere travel destinations in the province.
The campaign will ask the question, “what are the best things to see and do in the area”, and tourism operators, residents, former visitors, and the like will be able to submit their ideas to the OHTO’s website, and social media channels, such as Facebook and Twitter. This campaign will be promoted online and through local media, and a grand prize will be offered to encourage submissions. This campaign will run into the summer, and may extend to the end of 2011 based on its popularity and success. When the campaign is completed, the OHTO will have an increased online audience, as well as heightened knowledge of what destinations are most valued by the local population. This can assist with future promotions. A page capture from their website illustrates many of the outdoor and trail activities going on in the region |
Tuesday, September 15, 2015
Ontario Trails News - conservation act under review.
Find and use your favorite today!OFA reviews Ontario's Conservation Authorities Act 0
Peter Lambrick, Special to the Examiner
The majority of Ontario's wetlands in southern Ontario are located on farms. So when the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry recently launched a review of the Conservation Authorities Act, the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) compiled a response outlining the important role agriculture and farmers have in environmental and ecological protection and preservation.
Ontario's Conservation Authorities Act is designed to ensure the conservation, restoration and responsible management of water, land and natural habitat through programs that balance the human, environmental and economic needs. The act also authorizes the formation of conservation authorities with roles and responsibilities that directly impact land that Ontario farmers own and farm.
OFA has identified a number of areas where the Conservation Authorities Act can be improved and will be submitting a formal response through the government's review and consultation process which closes October 19. The two most important areas that affect Ontario farmers are building a better relationship between farmers and regional conservation authorities, and addressing funding imbalances between conservation authorities.
Many OFA members have working relationships with their local conservation authorities, with varying levels of success and respect. In our review submission OFA is asking for more effective, consistent representation for agriculture and farmers on conservation authority boards. OFA wants a dedicated farmer representative on each board to reflect the fact that Ontario farmers own and manage most of the lands under the conservation authority jurisdiction. With 36 conservation authorities across Ontario, OFA members report a wide variance in the delivery of services and treatment of farmers. While many are respectful and work collaboratively with farmers, others have been hostile and dictatorial. OFA wants to see changes made to the act to ensure conservation authority staff treat farmers and property owners respectfully and work together to manage and improve our wetlands and natural habitats.
In Ontario, conservation authorities are funded primarily through municipal levies. This creates funding disparity across the province. OFA is asking the government to ensure all conservation authorities, regardless of population base or geographic area, are equally funded to deliver core programs and services.
Ontario farmland plays a huge role in the health of our environment and ecology through wildlife habitat, water cycling like purification and ground water recharge, biodiversity, soil erosion control and the general aesthetics of our beautiful province. OFA will be submitting our review of the Conservation Authorities Act to ensure farmers have a voice in this regulation that affects so much of our valuable farmland. It's never been more important that we establish a balance between agriculture and conservation resources to protect and preserve Ontario's environment.
Peter Lambrick is a board member for the Ontario Federation of Agriculture.
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Saturday, September 12, 2015
Ontario Trails News - DMBA, Mitchell's Bay and Trees for Trails
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Durham Mountain Bike Club
The DMBA has built thirteen kilometers of sweet new single track in Durham! Uxbridge: September 1, 2015: The Durham Mountain Biking Association (DMBA) is pleased to announce the Grand Opening of the Dagmar North Trails on September 12, 2015. The new 13 km of trails in the Dagmar North Tract (DNT) are the culmination of eight years of planning and 5 months of building. The building was accomplished with over 200 volunteer builders investing over 5,000 hours of sweat equity in the project. This is one of the largest volunteer trail building projects in Canada. DMBA partnered with the Toronto Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) to realize the vision of a new network of multi-use, single track trails, purpose-built for mountain biking. Designed and built by mountain bikers for mountain bikers, this system of intermediate and advanced single track trails will provide an exciting expansion to the renowned riding and hiking experience in the rolling hills of the Oak Ridges Moraine in Durham Region’s Uxbridge Township. These new trails in TRCA’s Dagmar Tract connect 40 km of trails in the Durham Regional Forest with 100 km of trails in TRCA’s East Duffins Headwaters area offering an expanse of interconnected hiking and mountain biking trails unparalleled anywhere else in Ontario. These new trails have been carefully designed by DMBA’s skilled and experienced Trails Team. The trails include specially built riding features for skills development and technical challenges to provide an exciting and challenging riding experience with safety designed in as well. They were built to International Mountain Biking Association’s (IMBA) sustainable trails standards so they will resist erosion, withstand wear & tear, require minimal ongoing maintenance and be environmentally friendly. Trail layout and design respects the TRCA’s environmental priorities for the area. DMBA used a hybrid building approach: employing two eminent Ontario trail builders, to rough-in the trails using specialized equipment; and a cadre of 200+ trained volunteers wielding special trail tools to hand-finish the trails to a sculpted and smooth riding surface. Building began April 15, 2015 and continued through the summer with 2 organized volunteer work days per week. This project was funded by: a $20,000 grant from the Government of Canada administered through the National Trails Coalition; $21,000 from the DMBA; 5,000 hours or $75,000 worth of volunteer labour by DMBA members; and the generous working partnership of the TRCA and our corporate sponsors. Come and join us at Dagmar Ski Resort, 1220 Lake Ridge Rd. for our Grand Opening on Saturday Sept. 12, 9:30am-2:30pm. Join us for a ride, bbq lunch, live music, recognition and prizes - and help us celebrate the opening of Ontario’s newest network of mountain bike trails. Watchwww.durhammountainbiking.ca for more details and the schedule of the day’s activities. The Durham Mountain Biking Association (DMBA) is a non-profit association whose mission is to create, enhance and preserve trail opportunities for mountain bikers in Durham and York Regions. Formed in 2005, with a growing membership of 600+, DMBA works with local land managers to represent and advocate for the mountain biking community. DMBA designs, builds and maintains popular biking trails, offers group rides, family festivals, skills development clinics & programs, and much more. For more information visit www.durhammountainbiking.ca or contactinfo@durhammountainbiking.ca Mitchell's Bay North Lakeshore Trail Opening!
The Municipality of Chatham-Kent is pleased to officially open the newest addition to Chatham-Kent’s trail system: the Mitchell’s Bay North Lakeshore Trail.
Everyone is invited to the ribbon cutting ceremony scheduled for Saturday September 19, at 10:00 a.m. Please join us on the trail at the corner of W Lewis Line and Winterline Road.
Mitchell’s Bay Area Association and Chatham-Kent Trail volunteers will participate in the ribbon cutting along with representatives from the Municipality of Chatham-Kent and other trail partners including Ontario NativeScape.
This 2.40 metre wide, granular trail travels over 1 kilometre through a rehabilitated wetland area. Pedestrians, cyclists, and birders are welcome to use the trail to experience the Lake St Clair shoreline.
After the ceremony, participants are invited to join WalkCK for a Group Led Walk along the new trail. Refreshments will be provided.
For a map of the trail, along with maps of other Chatham-Kent trails, visit www.chatham-kent.ca/trails
Ontario Trails Meeting with Canada Blooms results in Trees for Trails We have received a very generous offer from Mark Cullen: he wishes to donate trees from his tree farm to Ontario communities. Contact Raymond Carriere by September 15th At this time, there are 550 trees available · Quercus rubra (Red Oak), Acer Saccharum (Sugar Maple), Acer Rubrum (Red Maple): all native trees grown from native stock · In 32 and 36 inch wire baskets: dug, healed into mulch and ready to plant…. · Approximate weight of each tree is 300 lbs. …thus equipment required to load and unload · FOB in Carp (near the Carp Airport) · Retail value estimated at $450 The "conditions" of the offer are: · notification of interest by September 15 …then distribution (on a "share equally" basis) will be first come, first served amongst those who will confirm · recipients responsible for pick up, loading and delivery costs (by means of their choice) · charitable receipt required of $200 per tree ..with the commitment that the trees will be planted and maintained for the first five years Please feel free to contact me for any further questions Thank you to Mark Cullen ! Raymond Carriere Tel: (514) 912-6535 bloom.fleurs@sympatico.ca www.communitiesinbloom.ca |
Friday, September 11, 2015
Thursday, September 10, 2015
Wednesday, September 9, 2015
Ontario Trails News - Essex hoping for cycling funding
Find and use your favorite today!County seeks funds for cycling trails
County council is seeking a $325,000 grant from a provincial government program as part of an overall $755,000 plan to provide cycling trails and upgrade washroom facilities on Civic Centre property.
If council receives funding under the Ontario Municipal Cycling Infrastructure program, it would help establish 2.3 kilometres of trail around the Civic Centre linking to Fairview Avenue as well as two other access points to Essex.
A further $300,000 would come from the County Wide Active Transportation System program with $80,000 pulled from the Civic Centre building fund and $50,000 provided by the Town of Essex and the Essex Region Conservation Authority.
Upgrades to the washroom facilities would include showers.
Council also applied for $25,000 from the Cycling Training Fund for delivery of skills and public education projects.
CWATS has a long-range goal of providing a network of on-road and off-road trails throughout Essex County.
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