Bruce Trail Conservancy Hike

 
Western Lake Ontario District partnered with the Niagara Bruce Trail Conservancy (BTC) Chapter to hold a hike on June 3. Volunteers from the local BTC Chapter  and a planner from BTC’s head office lead the hike. It was a perfect temperature for hiking in the woods, and no pesky mosquitos bothering us which made for an enjoyable experience. The hike started at Woodend Conservation Area - part of Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority. Attendees learned that when Bruce Trail has a portion of the trail on conservation authority or other publicly owned land, it is considered secured. This contrasts with other portions of the trail that are on private property with informal agreements.
  
Attendees learned that there are approximately 600 properties that BTC is trying to secure through donation, purchase or easement. A fundamental role of the BTC volunteers of each chapter is the Landowner Ambassador Program, that aims to build and maintain relationships with landowners who have the trail on their land or adjacent to their land. Discussion was had on the prioritization of acquisitions when there are finite funding dollars. Priority typically goes to lands where the trail is at risk of being redirected onto a road, or cases where there is opportunity to take the trail off the road. Connectivity creates a positive hiking experience; it also helps facilitate a natural corridor for plants and animals.
 
 Image 1 was taken about a quarter of the way through the hike and adjacent to the District School Board of Niagara’s Walker Living Campus shows a very aggressive spread of ivy and periwinkle. Another invasive species common to this area that is being combatted is garlic mustard. BTC organizes invasive species pull parties with local volunteers, so please consider contributing some time towards protecting natural areas from invasive species. Another easy way to combat invasives is avoiding planting them in your own gardens. Learn more from the Ontario Invasive Species Council here.
 
Hike attendees also learned about some endangered and vulnerable species. Image (2) shows some young PawPaw saplings. Once the Pawpaw tree is mature it will produce a fruit that tastes like a mix between mango, banana and passion fruit. BTC volunteers weren’t sure how they came to be planted in this little grove and said it could have been some goodwilled guerilla planting of this endangered species.
 


Image (3) illustrates an interesting tree that has an aggressive bend in its trunk which was thought to have been intentionally put into the tree. These bent trees are known as “marker trees” or trail trees which help to mark the trail and is a cultural practice borrowed from Indigenous populations. These marker trees are useful particularly in winter when other trail markers may not be as visible.

Image (4) shows a parcel of land that BTC has recently acquired. Interesting discussions around the challenges of planning policy limiting severances of the trail from remaining land occurred with regards to this recently acquired parcel adjacent to Woodend Conservation. In this case, BTC is trying to sever off a portion of the site to sell for a single detached dwelling to generate income that facilitates future acquisitions and to return some land to Niagara Region’s and Niagara Fall’s tax revenues. The remaining portion of the site contains side trails and has had bird boxes installed to support the local bluebird and swallow populations. In looking at the photo you will see 2 bird boxes side by side, which is intended to support one swallow and one bluebird. This configuration ensures that bluebirds can nest adjacent to a swallow since 2 different swallow families don’t like to nest adjacent to each other. 
The discussions along the hike on biodiversity and invasive species, land acquisition, stewardship, community engagement and planning policy made for a truly enjoyable post-work Monday evening earning a CPL credit. We encourage you to become a BTC member today!