OUTDOOR PROGRAM INTRODUCES US TO NATURE   

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Except for dancing the jive in the late 1950s and taking an active role in the hula-hoop craze of the same era, it always seemed that my timing was way off when I finally took the plunge and got involved in yet another fad. I seem to recall that I got into the citizen band radio craze of the 1970s just when most others with such unlikely handles as Mamma Cass, Big Daddy, Chicken Charlie and Black Alley Sally were in the process of selling their CB equipment, which could explain how I was able to get such a good deal on my base station and car unit.

 However, I hit pay dirt in 1996 when I started a program of outdoor events for Quinte Conservation. The timing was perfect as Quinte area residents were now primed and ready to learn about the nature in their backyard. The first few guided interpretive hikes took awhile to gain enthusiasm and trust, as most were not quite sure about this strange character in the Tilley hat who was about to take them into the woods. However, nature is very addictive and the program of Monday Evening Hikes that I introduced 15 years ago is still going strong.

This season, commencing in late April, there are 10 evening hikes and instead of registering for the entire series as in the past, participants can pick and choose the hikes that appeal to them the most. Some of the locations this year include The Millennium Trail, Stillwater Forest at Black River, Prince Edward Point, Avenstone Farm at Camden East, the Menzel Provincial Nature Reserve on Roblin Road, the Cataraqui Trail at Yarker, and highlighting the list this year is a guided tour on Canadian film makers John and Janet Foster’s spectacular property near Tweed. The hikes commence at 6:00 p.m., and last between one and two hours.

Also on tap this coming season are two full day guided hikes at Sheffield Conservation Area, south of Kaladar, and another at Moira Ridge Farms at Roslin, owned by Clifford and Heather Maclean. Rounding off the full day events is an interpretive canoe/kayak paddle on West Lake.

The events are now on both the Quinte Conservation and the NatureStuff website although registration won’t begin until March 1st. New this year will be the ability to register online.

Complementing the Quinte Conservation guided hikes, is a series of September and October interpretive hikes that I will be conducting through the NatureStuff banner. These are a bit more rigorous than the Quinte Conservation hikes, and take place outside the QC watershed, opening up the opportunity to explore further afield. Locations in this series include Rock Dunder and Jones Falls on the Rideau, Lemoine Point at Kingston, Peter’s Woods north of Grafton, Proctor Conservation Area at Brighton, Sager Conservation Area near Stirling, Presqu’ile Provincial Park, and hikes in two separate areas of Sandbanks Provincial Park.

These events are now on my website and registration is already brisk for this relatively new series that started two years ago. Complementing all the series being offered this year, is a special series of Trails Open Hikes being offered at no charge.  There is the annual Prince Edward County Birding Festival, and a couple hikes at the H.R. Frink Centre near Plainfield. The first of these is being held this Sunday, January 30th and is free of charge although donations to the Friends of the Frink Centre would be welcomed.

The Frink Centre is located at 381 Thrasher Road, off Highway 37, just nine km north of Belleville. The H.R. Frink Centre is a 500-acre property owned by Quinte Conservation, but operated as a natural science educational centre by the local Boards of Education. On this winter hike, we will explore one of the more popular trails here as we attempt to dispel the myth that everything goes to sleep for the winter. We will look at winter tree identity and if there is fresh snow, check out some of the scats, tracks and signatures that we come upon. How do you register? Just give me a call or drop me an e-mail.

Both the Quinte Conservation and the NatureStuff programs are on my website (look under EVENTS  from the Main Menu). Anyone without Internet access can request a complimentary printed copy of the program. I look forward to seeing readers of this column on some of these conducted hikes, and pointing out some of the plants and animals in these areas, and how they interconnect.