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The Bruce Trail in winter. Photo by: R. Mickeloff
The Bruce Trail BY ANDREW HIND
One of Ontario’s largest land trusts, the Bruce Trail Conservancy is a Canadian success story.
T
he simple act of following a path and freeing our body and mind provides mental escape, boosts our energy, and leads to the wonders of the natural world.
people would fall in love with its natural splendor and be more inclined to preserve its unique ecosystems. This was revolutionary: never before in Canadian history had a trail even remotely approaching this scope been realized.
We in Ontario are fortunate to have access to the Bruce Trail, an unparalleled network of footpaths throughout the Niagara Escarpment, one of the world’s most important landscapes.
“The Bruce Trail Conservancy is one of Ontario’s largest land trusts,” explains Michael McDonald, CEO of the BTC. “To date, we’ve preserved over 12,700 acres of Niagara Escarpment habitats, providing habitat for 86 species of concern.”
The Niagara Escarpment is a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve that traces the ancient shoreline of a pre-glacial tropical sea. The diverse natural landscape today supports a variety of incredible ecosystems and is home to an outstanding assortment of flora and fauna including 36 species of reptiles and amphibians, 53 species of mammals, 90 species of fish, and more than 350 species of birds.
“Beyond preserving vital biodiversity, the landscapes we protect represent a natural-based solution to climate change,” McDonald continues. “Our trees and wetlands capture carbon and provide fresh oxygen, improving the quality of life of all Ontarians.”
Protecting and promoting this unique natural wonder is the mandate of the Bruce Trail Conservancy (BTC), one of Ontario’s oldest land trusts. Its story begins in 1960, when a group of passionate naturalists, alarmed that the Escarpment was being developed, joined forces to create the Bruce Trail Conservancy. They believed that if they built a footpath along the Escarpment that
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BTC makes these lands available for exploration through an unparalleled network of trails. The main trail, which runs from Queenston in the south to Tobermory in the north, is 900 km long. “It would take the average person walking eight hours a day an entire month to traverse its length,” explains McDonald. Additionally, there are more than 400 km of side trails. The Bruce Trail is the longest market trail in Canada.
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