Thursday, November 9, 2017

Ontario Trails News - Trailwise - 09112017 Trailhead Canada, OTC, AMO and The Frank Cowan Company Risk Webinar, Member News and more from Ontario Trails!

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Trailhead Canada 2017

Working Towards a Framework for a National Trails Strategy

November 22 - November 23
The Years Premier Conference on All Things Trails is

Only 40 Days Away, So Register Now!

To Mark Canada's 150Anniversary,

Join Organizations And Representatives From Around The Nation As They Gather In Gatineau And Ottawa To Develop A Framework For A National Trails Strategy.  

Representatives from provincial and national parks and trails organizations, policy makers, granting organizations and trail developers will all be present during the 2-day conference to collaborate on a framework that will align trail priorities and practices at the national level.

Ensure Your Organization's Voice Is Heard by attending the conference and contributing to a truly national framework that will one day lead to a nationally recognized gold standard in trail practice.

Pre Conference Evening Reception

Network with colleagues from around the nation, local leaders and MPs in Canada's capital region (November 21)

Affordable Travel and Accommodation Options


       
Register Today and Ensure Your Voice Is Heard
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Patrick Connor BA (Hons) C.A.E., S.S.A.
C.E.O., Ontario Trails Council

Our mailing address is:
TrailHeadCanada2017@Gmail.com

Eventbrite - Trailhead Canada 2017

The Frank Cowan Company, and the Association of Municipalities of Ontario Present:SOLD OUT




Municipal liability and risk management issues cost municipalities millions of dollars every year.  Local governments must be aware of new and emerging risk management issues to help them effectively reduce the frequency and severity of claims. To that end, the Association of Municipalities of Ontario has partnered with Frank Cowan Company to offer municipalities access to information that promotes continuing awareness and action related to risk management. Join us for the first, in an ongoing series of, webinars where we will explore:

Trails: Are You Court Ready?

This one-hour webinar led by Christine Carter, Legal Counsel, Papazian Heisey Myers; and Patrick Connor, Executive Director, Ontario Trails Council focuses on the principles and practise of trail risk management. In the hour your facilitators will look at answers to the questions:
  • What is your legal duty of care?
  • When is this duty of care reduced?
  • What should your signs say?
  • What should be your main areas of concern on your trail systems?
  • Where can you turn for Certification and Training.
Date: November 16, 2017
Time: 12:00 pm (Noon) to 1:00 pm
Location: At Your Desk
Cost: Free, please note this webinar has a participation limit of 75.
Register today at https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_jUZL6dOXRs-ArLlb189k2Q

2018 Permits Now Available!

Get access to over 30,000km of trails this winter!


2018 Seasonal Permit Types and Pricing

Permit Type
on or before Nov 1st
on or before Dec 1st
Dec 2nd onwards
Seasonal Permit
$190.00 (+$7.50 processing fee)
$220.00 (+$7.50 processing fee)
$270.00 (+$7.50 processing fee)
Classic Permit (sled year 1999 or older)

 
$150.00 (+$7.50 processing fee)
$150.00 (+$7.50 processing fee)
$180.00 (+$7.50 processing fee)
Multi-Day  (2 consecutive day minimum)
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$35/day










 


Snowmobile Group Gets funding!

Beautiful Eastern Association of Snowmobile Trails (B.E.A.S.T.) Secures $120,000 Ontario Federation of Snowmobile Clubs (OFSC) / Ontario Tourism Infrastructure Grant, With Support of Lanark County, for Ottawa Valley Recreational Trail (OVRT) Bridge Improvements in Carleton Place
Carleton Place, ON., Nov 2017
Beautiful Eastern Association of Snowmobile Trails (B.E.A.S.T.) snowmobile club made a commitment to secure funding for OVRT bridge development and they came through with a $120,000 OFSC / Ontario Tourism Grant to help Lanark County enhance two key bridges in Carleton Place. Use of the OVRT is a high priority for the B.E.A.S.T to provide a safer crossing over the Mississippi River.
The Ottawa Valley Recreational Trail (OVRT) is a combined vision of the counties of Lanark, Renfrew, and the Township of Papineau-Cameron, to create a multi-use recreational trail, which has been made possible by purchasing the retired 296km CPR rail corridor from Smiths Falls to Mattawa. The Lanark County portion extends from Smiths Falls to Arnprior.
In partnership with Lanark County, B.E.A.S.T. was successful in securing a major OFSC / Ontario Tourism grant where Lanark County covered the first 15% of the project and the B.E.A.S.T. secured the remaining 85% through the grant. This bridge project focuses on upgrading the Mill Street bridge and the Mississippi River bridge, both in Carleton Place to include installation of new weathered steel railings, modification of existing expansion joints to provide a smooth surface, removal of a catwalk, and install approach guide rails. A secondary benefit of this grant is that it frees up Lanark County funds to be used on other portions of the trail.

More>>>>>>>>>


Ontario Trillium Grant  Updates

OTF’s upcoming workshops and webinars.

We have two in-person session formats:
Seed WorkshopA half day workshop that will focus on the Seed Investment Stream.
Full Day WorkshopA day-long workshop that features six sessions. You can choose to attend all or part of the day.:
·       OTF Strategy
·       How to apply for a Seed Grant
·       How to apply for a Capital Grant
·       How to apply for a Grow Grant
·       Program Growth and Development: Using a learning lens in evaluation
·       Services to the Community

The next OTF deadline is for Seed Stream applications:

Deadline to submit or update an organization registration:                      
January 31, 2018, 5 p.m. ET.
Deadline to submit a Seed application:                                                         
February 21, 2018, 5 p.m. ET.

Upcoming in-person sessions:

LocationDateTimeFocusLink to Workshop Registration
Peterborough30-Nov-179:00 am to 4:00 pmFull Day WorkshopFull Day OTF Workshop Peterborough registration link
Pickering11-Jan-181:00 pm to 4:00 pmSeed WorkshopSeed Workshop Pickering registration link
Beaverton25-Jan-181:00 pm to 4:30 pmSeed WorkshopSeed Workshop Beaverton registration link
Maynooth29-Jan-181:00 pm to 4:30 pmSeed WorkshopSeed Workshop Maynooth registration link
Newmarket30-Jan-182:00 pm to 5:00 pmSeed WorkshopSeed Workshop Newmarket registration link
Kingston1-Feb-181:30 pm to 4:30 pmSeed WorkshopKingston Seed Workshop registration link
See the full list of workshops and webinars here.

Please do share this email with your contacts and networks in the community.

Thank you very much. I hope to see you at one of our sessions.


Ontario Trails Website - Login Functionality is back!
ontario trails login
Over 400 people have signed up over the years for this web page functionality. With so much of the available OTC information on trails really being front page facing, this back end material didn't offer much value added.

However OTC does have specifically targeted information that is based on our most frequent requests, so we've synthesized the important stuff into key links and access locations to assist your desire as a trail community to learn more.

Pleased review your login and link. Many of you may want to turn on the login functionality given the renewed access to information. Or if you have turned it off and you wish to be removed from this service let us know.



Ontario Trails simplifies your Membership Connection!Over the years the Ontario Trails Council has worked to provide services that give you value and results for your membership support. We are constantly working to improve services and your ability to easily provide feedback on our efforts.

In March the OTC Board endorsed moving to a more automated system of membership management, deciding to use the platform Memberplanet. More information on this can be found at Memberplanet.

The OTC is working to implement this system.  The ways to Memberplanet should make membership management easier include:

1) Account information accuracy
2) On-line membership renewal
3) Contact status updates
4) Group news

The membership planet platform provides all of these, including invoicing and receipt generation functions. So if you have an A/P department to report too, this should make your paper trail readily available to you!

When you start the process you'll be directed to this window. We are working on updating existing members to the database. So if you are an existing member, just bookmark this information for reference. We'll send you reminders about renewing at renewal time, in late November each year.



Ontario Trails All Year Long! 
Add an Ontario Trail Logo to your website! 
Ontario Trails WeekOntario Trail DayOntario Trail Count
Watch for it on our social media, our facebook page and in our twitter feed.

Tell us all about your trail event and join us as we celebrate Ontario's Trails!
1. Log in Your Event  - Event spreadsheet.
2. Add your event to our event calendar -  add it here.
3. Post your personalized decal on your Trail - we have one for every group on our list. (see #5 below)
elliot lake trails survey
4. Add your trail user survey to any of your trail pages - we've made one for our members and regions. Get your decal here - 
We've checked the links, if something isn't working simply give us a call - 613-484-1140. We'll be adding these links to the various relevant trail pages in your regions and RTO's/DMO's over the upcoming year!

5. Send us your Trails video - we'll be posting content on-line at https://goo.gl/Fy2bIL and we'd be happy to add to our trails tube - https://www.youtube.com/user/ontrails
Missing? You may want to talk to us about OTC Membership. 613-484-1140 We'd be happy to connect with you.

Prioritizing the health and safety of vulnerable road users


Protected bike lanes foster active transportation, positively influencing the health of Canadians through safe and accessible travel for people of varying ages, fitness and ability levels.


Photo Credit Sarah Kim
By SARAH KIM
EILEEN CHEUNG
Tues., Nov. 7, 2017In the summer of 2012, Sarah Kim was cycling home on Bloor St. when a car door opened to her right, striking her handlebar. The wheel lurched left, launching her from her bike into the next lane. Dazed from the impact, she looked up to see a car approaching, the front fender at the level of her face.
In those next seconds, the hand of death passed her over: the approaching car was moving slow enough that the driver was able swerve into oncoming traffic to avoid running her over, tires screeching as panicked drivers slammed on their brakes. The car following behind the first came to a stop in front of her, a foot from her nose, filling her nostrils with exhaust.
Incredibly, no other collision occurred. She walked from the scene with a broken bike, scuffed helmet, separated shoulder and a deepened perspective on life and the lack of safe cycling infrastructure in Toronto.
As doctors, most of us spend our careers caring for people in clinical settings. Nonetheless, public health achievements are what make the most difference to our patients’ health. Clean water, sanitation, and food inspection are standard provisions by municipalities because these actions prevent illness, disability, and death. Likewise, measures to improve road safety are necessary public health interventions.
Yet, as illustrated above, to travel by bicycle is often dangerous. The main reason people give for not cycling is fear of cycling on the road with car traffic. In Toronto, more than 1,000 cyclists are injured in collisions with motor vehicles annually.
These are preventable injuries; cyclists in Europe are two to three times less likely to be injured and eight to 30 times less likely to be killed than their North American counterparts because their roads have been redesigned to accommodate people using multiple modes of transport.
Similarly within Canada, collision rates between people who bike alongside motor vehicles in Vancouver and Montreal are lower than in Toronto, despite a higher proportion of users of active transportation in those cities, because of better cycling infrastructure.
Active transportation is any form of human-powered transportation; the most common forms are walking and cycling. Most active transportation users who travel by bicycle are not professional cyclists; they are people who use bicycles to get around.



Ontario Trails Board and Staff Present Three Sessions to Parks and Recreation OntarioOntario Trails Council presented on Green Infrastructure, Trail Management and certificate Education, Conflict Resolution and the IMportance of Trail Metrics through Data Collection. Thanks to PRO for facilitating a great day and to Paul Ronan for getting us all to go!




Ontario Trails Board and Staff Present at Conservation Areas Workshops

The Annual Conservation Areas Workshop was held at Geneva Park near Orillia, Ontario: October 25th - 27th, 2017.  The Workshop provided a valuable opportunity for training, networking, and collaboration for Land Managers and staff of the 36 Conservation Authorities in the province of Ontario. The annual Workshop provided an excellent opportunity for all staff to connect with each other. Check out the Nine Years in Review presentation to learn more.
This year’s theme was Build, Teach, Connect.
Build: Attendees shared their experiences in making the most of natural spaces when building conservation areas.
Teach: Engaging in environmental education is crucial for land managers. The importance of educating the public on the value of conserving natural spaces, and developing deeper connections between people and nature was highlighted through this year’s conference.
Connect: The workshop emphasized how Conservation Areas across the province can connect people and promote an understanding of the importance of maintaining natural habitat. Attendees had the opportunity to collaborate on techniques and strategies for fostering these connections.
This year, the Conservation Areas Workshop was lead by an Eastern Ontario Conservation Authority, South Nation.
John Mesman, Team Lead for Communications at South Nation Conservation will be chairing this year’s conference and offering a new perspective.

A number of OTC Board Members, Dan Andrews, Paul Ronan and staff Patrick Connor all spoke at the event. Thanks to South Nation and to Conservation ONtario for the invitations to speak.



Ontario Trails wants to Know!
Hi - the OTC has listened to people and through recent consultation with:

1) Conservation Area Managers via Conservation Ontario forums, plus Park and Recreation Managers via Ontario Parks Association  Parks and Recreation Ontario we have added Dog on Leash and Dog off Leash Categorizations to your trails. We will designate but you have to tell us which ones. Also knowing if you have a dog park in your area would help as we could then also direct dog owners to these parks as well. We can add your message.

2) Hunting Off Trail - we have been talking with the Conservation Officers Association and Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters and it's that time of year where many hunters using ATV, dirt Bike or other means access hunt lands off of trails. Do you allow this off of your trail(s)? We can add this information to your trails. We can add your message.

In both cases this information is viewable off our handheld website so all trail users can know this.

Both groups have indicated this would help with prosecution (if needed) trespass and landowner protection as usually signs are often deficient, or with many access points its difficult to know whether there is a sign at all access points, and in fact whether these staffs are there to educate (which they would prefer) or police.

Please advise.

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