Trail recipe
Lake Superior National Marine Conservation Area
Getting down and dirty
© Parks Canada / Erin Joudrey
By Erin Joudrey
Lake Superior National Marine Conservation Area partnered with the International Mountain Bicycling Association of Canada Trail Care Crew, Trans Canada Trail, Land of the Nipigon Waterways Development Association, and Nipigon's Annual Hike for Health Committee to deliver a free trail building workshop in Nipigon.
The workshop which was open to the public attracted over 30 ambitious participants who wanted to learn more about the techniques required for building sustainable, multi-use recreational trails. Locals from Pays Plat, Nipigon, Red Rock, Hurkett, Dorion and Thunder Bay attended a classroom workshop before hitting the trail. The workshop provided a balance between the physical aspects of trail development and the importance of managing users, fostering volunteer clubs, and building & maintaining partnerships.
The Trail Care Crew Workshop was facilitated by Chad and Deanne Lazaruk from the International Mountain Bicycling Association of Canada's Trail Care Crew. Chad and Deanne are traveling across the country offering free workshops on the importance of developing community trail infrastructure and how to better design, build and maintain trails in a sustainable way.
Who would have thought building a trail could be so much fun?
© Parks Canada / Erin Joudrey
On a sunny September afternoon, the trail experts on hand led participants through a hands-on learning experience at the Nipigon Marina near Clearwater Creek. Each participant gained valuable knowledge of what tools to use and how to best use them. Equally important was the experience gained in the methods of trail marking, ground preparation; including addressing drainage issues and finally how to make the trail look as natural as possible.
During that September afternoon volunteers created 150 meters of new trail . Imagine what a community of volunteers could do in one summer. Check out this new trail the next time you're in Nipigon.
Happy Trails!
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