Bruce Trail Conservancy 2021 Annual Meeting
Recording of the Bruce Trail Conservancy 2021 Annual Meeting (October 16, 2021)
Slides from the Bruce Trail Conservancy 2021 Annual Meeting [to come]
Webinars for BTC Members
Learn more about our webinars >
Recordings & Slides of Past Webinars:
- Bruce Trail App 101 (Jan. 13, 2022)
- Gifts of Land (Nov. 10, 2021)
- Modern Day Philanthropy - Efficient Gift Strategies (Oct. 7, 2021)
- Spring Wildflowers along the Niagara Escarpment and Bruce Trail (Mar. 11, 2021)
- Your life is your legacy (Feb. 11, 2021)
- Meet our friends: A tour of 3 international Friendship Trails (Jan. 14, 2021)
- Conservation in Action (Dec. 10, 2020)
- All Season Tree and Shrub Identification (Nov. 12, 2020)
- What's that plant? Botany on the Bruce Trail (June 11, 2020)
- The Bruce Trail Inspires (June 4, 2020)
- Ancient Seas, Glaciers & Waterfalls: The Geologic History of the Niagara Escarpment (May 28, 2020)
- Getting started with eBird (May 21, 2020)
- Exploring Canada Along The Great Trail (May 14, 2020)
- Tips on Hiking the Bruce Trail End-to-End (May 7, 2020)
- Volunteer Vacations on the Sendero Pacifico (April 30, 2020)
- Rare Species of the Niagara Escarpment (April 23, 2020)
- Native & Invasive Plants in Your Backyard (April 16, 2020)
Bruce Trail App 101
JAN. 13, 2022
Join us as we take a virtual tour of the new and improved Bruce Trail App. On this tour we will look at the functions and features of the app - like creating a route, exploring BTC protected lands, and tracking a hike - and give tips and tricks to help you use the app to its full potential.
Presenter: Brooke Henry (BTC Communications Assistant)
Watch the recording:
Select one of options below to jump to that section of the video:
- 0:00 Introduction
- 3:55 Subscription Information
- 6:13 App Home Screen
- 12:19 App Navigation
- 13:47 Setting up Maps and Map Filters
- 21:30 Downloading Maps and Using Offline
- 28:56 Measuring Function
- 30:33 Pin Function
- 32:20 Creating a Route
- 34:39 Finding a Saved Route
- 35:14 Tracking Hikes
- 41:33 Q & A Period
Gifts of Land
NOV. 10, 2021
Land donations are of critical importance to the mission of the Bruce Trail Conservancy. Whether through lifetime gifts or bequests, gifts of land are integral to securing a conservation corridor along the Niagara Escarpment. As one of Ontario’s largest land trusts, the Bruce Trail Conservancy’s skilled team of staff and volunteers works as a conservation partner with landowners to help them achieve their philanthropic goals.
Key topics covered:
- How the BTC team qualifies and secures land along the Niagara Escarpment
- A discussion of how our team works with landowners to facilitate gifts of land, and the impact to our mission
- Various options available when gifting land in lifetime or in estate
- Charitable tax incentives which enable landowners to achieve their philanthropic and financial/estate planning goals
Presenters:
- Antoin Diamond, Vice President of Land Acquisition, Bruce Trail Conservancy
- Candice Jay, Vice President at CC&L Private Capital Ltd.
- Vlad Solokhine, Certified Financial Planner at Lazar-Wealth Succession Strategies
Watch the recording:
Modern Day Philanthropy - Efficient Gift Strategies
OCT. 7, 2021
In this webinar, Candice Jay and Vlad Solokhine explore various ways that charitable giving can compliment your personal financial planning and philanthropic goals. You will learn about techniques to enhance your charitable gifts, get involved with your favourite charities on a new level, and save on taxes.
Key topics covered:
- Benefits and ease of gifting appreciated securities
- The power of life insurance as a philanthropic tool
- Gifts through registered accounts (RRSP, RRIF etc.)
Presenters:
Candice Jay, Vice President at CC&L Private Capital Ltd.
Vlad Solokhine, Certified Financial Planner at Lazar-Wealth Succession Strategies
Candice and Vlad are well known among Ontario environmental charities for their donor education webinars and guidance on charitable gifts.
Read more about Candice and Vlad in their biographies here.
Watch the recording:
Spring Wildflowers along the Niagara Escarpment and Bruce Trail
MAR. 11, 2021
What is a spring ephemeral? Why do certain plants flower before tree leaves emerge? Join our ecologists for answers to these questions, and more, on a virtual interpretive spring hike along the Bruce Trail. This webinar will focus on some of the various spring wildflowers that can be observed while hiking the Bruce Trail when life reemerges from its winter slumber.
Presented by: Brian Popelier (BTC Land Stewardship Coordinator and Ecologist)
Download the slides [pdf], or watch the recording:
Your life is your legacy
FEB. 11, 2021
Your legacy is not just something you leave behind, but also something you live today. Your core beliefs, values, and life experiences are enduring assets to share with family and loved ones. This presentation will give you tips and tools to get started on creating the most important letter of your life, the Legacy Letter. This document can be shared in your lifetime or as an accompaniment to your will.
Presented by: Gloria Vidovich (BTC Planned Giving & Donor Relations Officer)
Download the slides [pdf], or watch the recording:
Meet our friends: A tour of 3 international Friendship Trails
JAN. 14, 2021
Enjoy a virtual travel experience by discovering three of the Bruce Trail Conservancy’s beautiful international friendship trails – Kythera Trails, Lebanon Mountain Trail, and Cotswold Way – with presenters from each of these trail organizations.
Kythera Trails (www.kytheratrails.gr)
Presenter: Rigas Zafeiriou, Local Project Manager, Kythera Trails
Download Kythera Trails presentation slides [pdf]. Presentation starts at 0:27 in recording.
Cotswold Way (www.nationaltrail.co.uk; www.cotswoldsaonb.org.uk)
Rebecca Jones, Cotswold Trails, Access and Volunteers Lead
Download Cotswold Way presentation slides [pdf]. Presentation starts at 14:47 in recording
Lebanon Mountain Trail (www.lebanontrail.org)
Maya Karkour, President, Lebanon Mountain Trail Association
Download Lebanon Mountain Trail presentation slides [pdf]. Presentation starts at 29:45 in recording
Question & Answer Period for all 3 presentations starts at 50:27 in recording.
Conservation in Action
DEC. 10, 2020
Join our conservation team as they discuss the many ways the Bruce Trail Conservancy works towards protecting the ecology of the Niagara Escarpment. This presentation will examine how the BTC acquires, protects and restores sensitive land along the Bruce Trail.
Presenters: Adam Brylowski (BTC Manager Conservation and Trail), Brian Popelier (BTC Land Stewardship Coordinator & Ecologist) & Mara McHaffie (BTC Landowner Stewardship Coordinator).
Download the webinar slides [pdf] or watch the recording:
All Season Tree and Shrub Identification
NOV. 12, 2020
Learn how to identify some of Ontario’s native trees and shrubs throughout the seasons. This webinar will provide you with an overview of techniques that will help you to expand your knowledge of species along the Bruce Trail. Join BTC ecologists to unravel the mystery of tree ID!
Presenters: Brian Popelier (BTC Land Stewardship Coordinator & Ecologist) & Adam Brylowski (BTC Manager Conservation and Trail).
Download the webinar slides [pdf] or watch the recording:
What's that plant? Botany on the Bruce Trail
JUNE 11, 2020
Join us for a virtual walk to learn about some of the native flora found along the Bruce Trail and how to identify it. This webinar focusses on common growing season ID features such as leaves, flowers and fruit as well as some dormant characteristics such as buds, branching and bark. We also explore some common “look-alike” plants and how to tell them apart.
Presenters: Brian Popelier & Adam Brylowski (BTC Land Stewardship Coordinators & Ecologists).
Download the webinar slides [pdf] or watch the recording:
The Bruce Trail Inspires
JUNE 4, 2020
Meet 3 artists who have been inspired by the Niagara Escarpment on their explorations along the Bruce Trail: Suzanne Dyke (suzanne-dyke.wixsite.com/portfolio), Kristina Maus (www.kristinamaus.com), and Victoria Pearce (www.victoriapearce.ca) Take a stroll through a virtual gallery of their paintings and learn a bit more about their work, their process, and how the Bruce Trail has become their muse.
Download the webinar slides or watch the recording:
Ancient Seas, Glaciers & Waterfalls: The Geologic History of the Niagara Escarpment
MAY 28, 2020
In this webinar we explore the fascinating geological history of the Niagara Escarpment. The rocks we see exposed along the Escarpment today were deposited in an ancient tropical sea that covered large parts of Ontario between 400 and 450 million years ago. The sea teemed with marine life and these ancient animals are now preserved as fossils within the limestones, dolostones and shales that accumulated on the sea floor. These ancient sedimentary rocks have been eroded over time as glaciers and rivers repeatedly scoured the landscape; the steep Escarpment face we see today continues to evolve as waterfalls cascade over its edge.
Presented by: Dr. Carolyn Eyles and Rebecca Lee, School of Geography & Earth Sciences, McMaster University.
Download the webinar slides [10 MB pdf] or watch the recording:
Getting started with eBird
MAY 21, 2020
Join Amanda for a live demo of eBird and learn how our own bird observations can contribute to scientific understanding of Important Biodiversity Areas (IBAs). She'll share insights from her work at Birds Canada and reveal how we can each start our own life list of birds.
For more great info, subscribe to Bird Canada's Ontario IBA Newsletter.
Host: Amanda Bichel (Ontario Important Bird and Biodiversity Area Coordinator, Birds Canada)
Download webinar slides [4MB pdf] or watch the recording:
Exploring Canada Along The Great Trail
MAY 14, 2020
Sonya and Sean are long-time BTC members and End-to-Enders who've begun a #hike4birds along The Great Trail, formerly the Trans Canada Trail, promoting diversity in outdoor activities and striving to inspire youth to reconnect with nature through birding and Citizen Science. In this webinar, they share stories of their time on The Great Trail, and highlight how Citizen Science can be a way to bridge the divide between our digital landscapes and our natural ones.
Hosts: Sonya Richard and Sean Morton
Download the webinar slides [33MB] or watch the recording
Tips on Hiking the Bruce Trail End-to-End
MAY 7, 2020
Get advice on planning an End-to-End hike of the Bruce Trail and tips on what to expect on your journey. If “hike the whole Bruce Trail” is on your bucket list, either as a thru-hike or in stages over time, this is the session to watch.
Host: Ruth Moffatt (Bruce Trail End-to-Ender, BTC Member, Volunteer, Donor & Avid Hiker)
Download the webinar slides [8MB pdf] or watch the recording:
Volunteer Vacations on the Sendero Pacifico
APRIL 30, 2020
Discover Costa Rica’s Sendero Pacifico – one of the BTC’s 9 international Friendship Trails – and learn how you can be part of a future volunteer vacation or customized tour to this beautiful trail.
Hosts: Nat Scrimshaw (Chair, World Trails Network-Americas) & Ros Rossetti (Beaver Valley Bruce Trail Club Past President)
Download the webinar slides [14MB pdf] or watch the recording:
Rare Species of the Niagara Escarpment
APRIL 23, 2020
Find out what rare and at-risk species make their home on the Niagara Escarpment. From bugs, to birds, to botanical oddities, learn about these unique creatures and why protecting them is so important.
Hosts: Brian Popelier & Adam Brylowski (BTC Land Stewardship Coordinators & Ecologists)
Download the webinar slides [pdf], or watch the recording:
Native & Invasive Plants in Your Backyard
APRIL 16, 2020
Learn how you can improve biodiversity and wildlife habitat in your own backyard, through the protection and planting of native plants and the identification and management of invasives.
Hosts: Lyndsey Wilkerson (BTC Landowner Stewardship Coordinator) & Brian Popelier (BTC Land Stewardship Coordinator & Ecologist)
Download the webinar slides [pdf], or watch the recording: