Help build a more resilient Bruce Trail.
This year, spring storms closed entire sections of the Bruce Trail. With your help, we’ll be ready next time.
For many of us, spring brings a sense of renewal. As the weather gets warmer, the natural world reawakens – trees begin to bud, salamanders return to wooded vernal pools, and migratory birds fill the air with song. It’s a season that brings the Niagara Escarpment to life, and Bruce Trail Conservancy (BTC) staff and volunteers begin important trail and stewardship work.
But this year, spring began with a storm.
On the weekend of March 29-30, a severe ice storm hit many of the northern parts of the Bruce Trail, leaving destruction in its wake. For the first time in our history, four entire sections of the Bruce Trail- Dufferin Hi-Land, Blue Mountains, Beaver Valley, and Sydenham- were closed due to hazardous conditions.
These sections total over 400 kilometres of Main Trail and over 175 kilometres of Side Trail. That’s nearly half of the entire Bruce Trail.
Now, thanks to the incredible efforts of BTC volunteers, most of the Trail has reopened. But the storm made one thing clear: we need to be ready for the next emergency.
Due to climate change, severe weather events like this are becoming more frequent and intense. To meet these growing challenges, the BTC must invest in preparedness and ensure volunteers have the training, tools, and support needed to act quickly, safely, and effectively when disaster strikes.
A gift today will support volunteers in the future.
The clean-up from this ice storm required the help of trained chainsaw users, known as sawyers, from Clubs all along the Trail. At the request of our volunteers, the BTC has committed to expanding the pool of sawyers by providing more training and certification. This spring alone, 24 new sawyers will be certified, with more to come.
With your help, we can ensure that our volunteers are trained and certified to address future storm damage, building a resilient Trail community.
The BTC equips volunteers with the proper personal protective equipment, with the cost of doing so totalling over $500 per sawyer.
The BTC also provides many tools used in Trail Maintenance, including chainsaws, electric trimmers, and whipper snippers, plus the fuel and servicing required to keep these tools running. Your gift will help cover these critical expenses to ensure volunteers can hit the Trail when the time comes.
Provide BTC volunteers with the tools they need to keep the Trail safe and accessible with a donation today.
This recent storm also revealed challenges in how the BTC and volunteers track and prioritize damage across such a vast network of trails. Identifying which areas needed the most attention and tracking the damage proved to be difficult. In response, the BTC is looking to improve our systems and better utilize digital databases and technology, including the Bruce Trail App, to better support volunteers, streamline communication and address emergencies on the Trail as quickly as possible. These digital improvements require investments, but they will make our responses to emergencies more agile and effective in the future.
Spring into action with us! Your gift will support vital training, equipment, and innovation that will keep the Trail open and thriving, no matter what the future holds.
We are deeply grateful to our volunteers. Their passion, experience, and commitment brought the Bruce Trail back to life this spring. Let’s give them the tools and resources they need to be ready for whatever comes next.
