Trail Care Crew 2012 Report

2012 t r o p e R l Annuciaal 3-Year Update!

Plus: Spe

Table of Contents

Foreword 2

Spotlight: Trans Canada Trail

7

Program Partners

3

Program Impact: Press + Media

8 -9

2012 Schedule

4

3-Year Report: Map

10 - 11

Accomplishments

5

3-Year Report: Accomplishments

12 - 14

Spotlight: Parks Canada

6

3-Year Report: Thank you Partners

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Foreword Twenty-twelve marked the third season of the IMBA Canada Trail Care Crew travelling to communities across Canada.

With a new and energized team steering the Subaru, the program continued to hit great milestones, including nearly 600 participants trained on sustainable trail building, and over 3900 meters of trail constructed. The program is garnering more media attention, and each weekend we’re engaging with more participants from a variety of user groups.

The Crew began their year in the Yukon with two visits, then travelled to Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Alberta, and wrapped up their season in British Columbia. The IMBA Ontario Trailblazing Festival was another highlight of the season, where TCC leaders Rachael and AJ made a big difference bringing together land manager and local trail users and helped to get both parties working together.

Since the start of the program in 2010, the Trail Care Crew has met and exceeded all goals set out in our initial agreements. Moreover, the impact of the Crew’s work still resonates in the communities they visited; we get emails and phone calls on a regular basis from hosts as they continue to report successes. It makes us proud to know that the IMBA Canada Trail Care Crew program, which started out as a simple dream scribbled on a paper napkin, is having such a large impact across the country.

With the 2013 season starting up soon, Rachael and AJ are getting excited for another season on the road, while the clubs, National Parks, and other trail groups are eagerly waiting for the knowledge, expertise, and professionalism that we pack so tightly in the Subaru.

Read on for an update on the Trail Care Crew in 2012, and also a special three year retrospective summarizing the program’s impact from 2010-2012.

Happy trails!

Deanne Lazaruk Trail Care Crew Coordinator, 2012 season deanne.lazaruk@imba.com 2

partnerships Thank you to our partners & sponsors Who make the program possible!

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2012 Trail Care Crew Schedule Prov

City

Date(s)

Host Org

ON ON ON YT YT ON QC QC QC ON ON ON ON MB MB AB AB AB NM AB AB BC BC BC BC BC BC BC

Toronto Midland Georgina Whitehorse Haines Junction Kingston Bromont Shawinagan Wakefield Barrie Sault Ste. Marie Sault Ste. Marie Richards Landing Steinbach Wasagaming Athabasca Devon Red Deer Santa Fe Banff Jasper Invermere Kimberley Cranbrook Abbotsford Powell River Sechelt Nanaimo

5/26 5/28 6/8 - 6/10 7/5 - 7/8 7/9 - 7/12 7/19 - 7/22 7/26 - 7/29 8/1 - 8/5 8/9 - 8/12 8/16 - 8/19 8/23 - 8/26 8/27 8/28 9/6 - 9/9 9/13 - 9/16 9/20 - 9/23 9/27 - 9/30 10/4 - 10/7 10/10 - 10/13 10/20 10/22 - 10/29 11/1 - 11/4 11/8 - 11/11 11/15 - 11/18 11/22 - 11/25 11/29 - 12/2 12/4 12/6 - 12/9

City of Toronto Parks Canada - Georgian Bay Islands National Park City of Georgina IMBA - Contagious Mountain Bike Club Parks Canada - Kluane National Park IMBA - MTB Kingston IMBA - Les Amis des Sentiers de Bromont Parks Canada - La Mauricie National Park TCT - Wakefield Ensemble IMBA - Barrie Cycling Club + IMBA Ontario Festival IMBA - Sault Cycling Club Parks Canada - Sault Canal National Historic Site Parks Canada - Fort St. Joseph National Historic Site IMBA - Body Driven Sports Parks Canada - Riding Mountain National Park TCT - Athabasca Recreational Trails Association IMBA - Devon Bicycle Assc. + City of Devon City of Red Deer IMBA - 2012 World Mountain Bike Summit Parks Canada - Banff National Park + Bow Valley M.B.A. Parks Canada - Jasper National Park IMBA - Columbia Valley Cycling Society TCT - Kimberley Trails Society IMBA - Wildhorse Cycling Club TCT - Metro Van. Regional Parks + Fraser Valley M.B.A. IMBA - Powell River Cycling Association Capilano University’s Mountain Bike Operations Program IMBA - Nanaimo Mountain Bike Club

The mountains are calling us: AJ riding in Haines Junction, YT, and Rachael stops building to smile for the camera in Jasper National Park!

meet our 2012 - 2013 crew!

AJ Strawson and Rachael Raven hit the road back in July 2012, on a flight up to Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, and haven’t looked back since!

The Ontario-based couple have backgrounds in GIS/ Environmental Studies and Communications, respectively.

Rachael also served as IMBA Canada’s Trail Care Crew Coordinator for 2010-2011 seasons, and continues to act as IMBA’s Canadian Communications Specialist from the road.

The energetic duo love everything about trails and twowheeled adventures. When they’re not bushwacking through the forest looking for the perfect line, or coaching clubs about non-profit best practices, the pair are slowly building their list of favourite trails across the country and trying to decide where to settle down when their time in the Subaru comes to an end!

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Trail Care Crew accomplishments jan 1 - dec 31, 2012

Kilometers traveled: Provinces visited: Days on the road Number of visits: IMBA Trail Building Schools: Total events: Total days in field: Total people educated: Total volunteer hours: Meters of trail designed: Meters of trail constructed / maintained:

24,652 6 181 29 24 50 62 596 1,889 2,452 3,901

breakdown by province Province Participants

Volunteer Hours Trails Visited

Groups Engaged

BC 240 534 27 20 Alberta 155 273 23 20 Manitoba 21 21 9 4 Ontario 274 721 29 26 Quebec 85 304 18 12 Yukon 23 36 22 6

We’ve seen it all! Since July 2012, the Trail Care Crew visited more than 128 trails during official events, totaling around 650km ridden and hiked.

Looking back: Learn the impact of the IMBA Canada Trail Care Crew program since 2010 on pages 10 - 16 in the Special 3-Year Report.

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partnership spotlight: Parks canada Over the course of the year, Trail Care Crew leaders AJ and Rachael had the opportunity to visit nine Parks Canada sites, including training at Georgian Bay Islands, trail building in La Mauricie and Jasper, trail design in Riding Mountain, and hiking in Pacific Rim. The highlight of the year was certainly the trip to Kluane National Park and Haines Junction, YT, working alongside Trails Analyst Mark Schmidt and Park Superintendent Jim Greenfield. The experience of exploring the park and its trails - during almost 20 hours of daylight - made a lasting impression on the Crew. The resulting blog, Kluane National Park: Canada’s wild north, filled with incredible photos and video, was very popular and received many referrals from

facebook and twitter.

“Not only does the...Trail Care Crew do a great job of teaching us old dogs new tricks, they do a bang-up job interpreting our National Parks for us as well. Check out [the blog], one more way we are working in partnership to keep Kluane, and Canada’s National Parks, “relevant” to Canadians moving forward,” wrote Jim Greenfield, in an email.

flags and inclinometers to get some experience designing sustainable singletrack,” wrote AJ in the blog, This must be why they call it Riding Mountain.

Left top: waiting for the troops to arrive in Jasper National Park Bottom: Stopping for a photo break in front of Sault Ste Marie’s historic Locks.

Right top: Mauricie’s trail crew joins IMBA to rehabilitate a popular hiking trail. Bottom: Breathtaking views aren’t hard to come by in Kluane.

In total, 82 participants were trained in sustainable trail building and design practices, 37 of which were Parks Canada staff. This resulted in aprox. 181 person hours of construction in Parks Canada sites.

While the emphasis of many visits was on trail building, the Crew took time in La Mauricie to focus on trail maintenance, and also facilitated a special trail design workshop in Riding Mountain National Park.

“Our trail workshop was held to help the Park and other local trail builders gain some extra skills on designing trail, including how to make the most out of available experiences in the landscape... participants used pin

2012 Parks Canada visits •

Georgian Bay Islands National Park, ON

•

Kluane National Park, YT

•

Parc Nationale Mauricie, QC

•

Sault Canal National Historic Site, ON

•

Fort St. Joseph National Historic Site, ON

•

Riding Mountain National Park, MB

•

Banff National Park, AB

•

Jasper National Park, AB

•

Pacific Rim National Park, BC (unofficial visit)

partnership spotlight: trans canada trail Twenty-twelve was another productive season for the IMBA Canada Trail Care Crew, crossing many more Trans Canada Trail communities off our list.

Official visits included IMBA Trail Building Schools in Wakefield, QC, Athabasca, AB, and Kimberley, BC, with 59 participants trained on sustainable trail building practices, and more than 216 volunteer hours spent helping to connect the Trail from Coast to Coast to Coast.

Factor in events which took place in TCT communities (often literally a stone’s throw away from the Trail, such as in Devon, AB) this adds up to 151 participants trained, and 492 volunteer person hours.

Crew leaders Rachael and AJ saw many great successes along the Trans Canada Trail, including an extremely well-attended build in Wakefield, QC, building Athabasca, AB’s first piece of singlatrack trail, and also in Cranbrook, BC, where

decision makers allowed the fledgling bike club to run their first-ever trail maintenance day specifically because of the partnership between IMBA Canada and the Trans Canada Trail.

As the close of the 2012 season bring’s IMBA Canada’s partnership agreement with the Trans Canada Trail to an end, we couldn’t be more proud to get our hands dirty helping to build the world’s longest trail - connecting Canadians with their communities, nature, and hopefully introducing a life long passion for human powered recreation. ‘official’ 2012 visits Locations where we worked with TCT-affiliate organizations

•

Wakefield, QC

•

Athabasca, AB

•

Kimberley, BC

•

Abbotsford, BC

‘UN-official’ Visits Communities where we worked on, or a stone’s throw away from the TCT

•

Whitehorse, YT

•

Haines Junction, YT

•

Bromont, QC

•

Shawinagan, QC

•

Barrie, ON

•

Sault Ste. Marie, ON

•

Devon, AB

•

Red Deer, AB

•

Cranbrook, BC

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Nanaimo, BC

Top: While preparing for a visit, AJ gets a tour of mountain town Kimberley, BC’s, trail system. Bottom: TCT-org Athabasca Recreational Trails Society building the region’s first piece of singletrack.

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Program impact press + media We work hard to generate press for each IMBA Canada Trail Care Crew visit. Through our online press kit and personal correspondence, we encourage each visit host to engage the media. To track media coverage, we monitor Google alerts and request links from hosts. While this list indicates substantial media coverage, we are certain there has been exposure we missed. Not included are the many news articles and posts that appear on local mountain bike club websites and message boards.

Traditional media Brandon Sun Canadian Cycling Magazine CBC Radio 1 (Manitoba) CBC Radio 1 (North) Columbia Valley Pioneer East Kootenay Weekly Fitzhugh: Jasper’s Independent Newspaper

Invermere Valley Echo L’Echo de Shawinigan Low Down to Hull & Back News Orillia Packet Radio Canada St. Catharines Standard Western Star

Online media Bikepowellriver.com Canadiancyclist.com Mudbunnies.com Ridingfeelsgood.com Somegoodadventure.com Trailburn.ca Trailforks.com

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In addition to community and web news, members and contacts of IMBA get regular updates about the Trail Care Crew program via social media, direct emails, in our print newsletter, and in weekly blog updates. Year after year, pages on imbacanada.com featuring the Crew’s stories, resources, and photos are some of the most popular content on our website!

Annual e-blast statistics, including event invitations and monthly eNews: • Open rate: 26% • Click through rate (of the people who opened the email): 26%

Across, Left: IMBA Canada’s Trail Care Crew has a dedicated page in each issue of our print newsletter.

Right: Direct emails, like the one above, promote the TCC events as well as celebrate program successes.

Above: Blogs written by the Crew collectively make up the most popular content on the website!

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map Legend imba visits parks canada visits trans Canada trail visits other land managers

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200000 400000 600000 m

special Report Three years of the Trail Care Crew in Action, 2010-2012

Special report summary of accomplishments: 2010 - 2012

Provinces / Territories visited: Kilometers traveled: Days on road: Days in field: Total number of IMBA Trail Building Schools: Total multimedia presentations: Total events: Number of people educated on sustainable trail building: Total volunteer person hours: Total event participants: Total brand impressions at events: Total number of organizations engaged with:

11 107,444 741 243 71 94 160 1,610 6,633 3,046 130,472 416

For three years, IMBA Canada’s Trail Care Crews have been privileged to travel across this vast, beautiful country of ours, meeting fantastic trail advocates and outdoors people, while spreading IMBA’s gospel of sustainable trails.

Year after year, the program has continued to grow in productivity and popularity, and we continue to learn about the great successes of host-organizations as they continue with the momentum following Trail Care Crew visits.

Supported by Partners Parks Canada and the Trans Canada Trail, the dynamic duos have travelled over 107,000km in eye-catching Subaru Outbacks, passing through ten provinces and two territories.

Stories on the Crews have been featured in Canadian Cycling Magazine and also in mainstream press, including CBC Radio 1 (Manitoba and North).

Through IMBA’s highly-respected one day Trail Building School, we’ve trained more than 1,600 participants on the art and science of natural-surface trail building. That’s over 6,600 volunteer person hours spent building and maintaining 8,311 meters of singletrack trails by hand.

With more than 70 visits and IMBA Trail Building Schools under our belt, we look forward to visiting the many communities and clubs who are anxiously awaiting the Crew’s visit in 2013 - and in the years to come.

Success story: Hamilton Cycling Club “Without IMBA’s Trail Care Crew visit, we might not have a trail system in Christie Lake Conservation Area. Before their visit, we had an eager group of volunteers and an agreement in principle from the Conservation Authority that we could begin a trail system. After their visit, we had incredible goodwill from the Conservation Authority, a general plan for over ten km of trail, specific layout for three km, nearly a kilometer of trail completely built and a galvanised group of volunteers...Now, nearly two years after [Chad and Deanne’s] visit, the trails (of which we have built about five km with nearly 2500 hours of volunteer time) have become a destination for cyclists, runners, hikers, skiers and snowshoers.

Thanks, IMBA Canada!”

- Kim, Dundas, ON

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15 National parks, 3 national historic sites, and 1 marine conservation area official parks canada visits 2010 - 2012 Banff National Park Bruce Peninsula National Park Forillon National Park Fort Rodd Hill National Historic Site Fort St. Joseph National Historic Site Fundy National Park Georgian Bay Islands National Park Grasslands National Park Gulf Islands National Park

Jasper National Park Kluane National Park Lake Superior National Marine Conservation Area La Mauricie National Park Riding Mountain National Park Sault Canal National Historic Site St. Lawrence Islands National Park Terra Nova National Park Wood Buffalo National Park

connecting the trail from coast to coast to coast the following Trans Canada Trail Communities have been host to trail building schools since 2010 BC Abbotsford* Castlegar* Cranbrook Kimberley* Nanaimo North Vancouver Pemberton* Victoria AB Athabasca* Banff Calgary Canmore

Devon Red Deer SK Maple Creek* Regina MB Otterburne* Wasagaming ON Barrie Chatham-Kent* Dryden Hamilton Midland

Niagara* Nipigon* North Bay* Ottawa Sault Ste Marie Thunder Bay* QC Bromont Mont-Tremblant Shawinagan Sherbrooke Victoriaville Wakefield* NB

Alma Memramcook* NS Antigonish* NL Corner Brook NT Fort Smith YT Haines Junction Whitehorse

*Indicates official visit

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Kudos for our crews We survey IMBA Trail Building School participants, as well as clubs and land managers to learn more about their individual experiences with the Crew. Each year (overwhelmingly) survey respondents rate their experience with the Trail Care Crew as excellent (93%), and all participants (100%) since 2010 would recommend the program to a friend!

Read on to learn a little about why they had such a great experience:

the best part of the visit was... “... the good vibe it created between different user groups all working together towards making a better trail.” - Steve, Invermere, BC “...nothing compares to seeing the before and after building of a trail!” - Carolyn, Corner Brook, NL “...I got a lot out of how and why the IMBA trail building standards are applied. Very helpful for planning legitimate trails and networks, makes it easier to communicate and plan things with landowners and other land users.” - Dave, Nanaimo, BC “...we were able to mobilize 27 people to attend the classroom seminar and get a number of people together to work on the trails. As the president of the local cycling club it was great to have an event like this as a reason to get people out.” - Adrian, Radium, BC “...the IMBA facilitators were very knowledgeable and had practical information for our group. I wish we could keep them here forever!” - Meghan, Cranbrook, BC “...the feeling it gave the club. I could see the motivation build, to move forward with getting legal trails approved.

Our biggest hurdle is land. I think the workshop has gelled the group together.” - Austin, Cranbrook, BC “...the reaction from some of the participants who are not part of our core group, such as logging contractors and land managers. They have a whole new appreciation for the thought and planning and skill set that goes into what we do, I think by rolling their sleeves up and taking part they also experienced the passion we feel for our sport.”

- Wayne, Powell River “...the in-class presentation was interesting to see what other clubs in Canada are building and how they deal with their terrain. Seeing some new trail building techniques getting feed-back and new info from the Trail Care Crew Getting out in the field on local trails to put the techniques to use.” - Paula, Golden, BC “...the field work session was excellent and it was great to have Chad and Deanne out to explain what we had learned in the classroom. Also, the teamwork atmosphere that they inspire with their enthusiasm is contagious!” Cheri, Regina, SK “...the facilitators used a community-building approach and were inclusive of all participants’ ages and trail use interests” - Sue, Antigonish, NS

Thank you!

We can’t say it enough. Thank you to Parks Canada, Trans Canada Trail, Subaru Canada, and Trek Canada for their generosity. Also to Thule, Camelbak, Giro, Kryptonite, and the North Face Canada; to all of our partners, sponsors, and supporters who have helped us to launch the Trail Care Crew program, and also keep the Crew on the road throughout the 2011, 2011, and 2012 seasons.

The dream for a Canadian Trail Care Crew was hatched over drinks at a Peterborough, ON, pub back in 2005. Notes from the meeting, between Parks Canada and IMBA Canada visionaries, were scratched out on the back of a napkin, outlining the plan for a future program that would influence trails

Canada-wide.

Without the support from Parks Canada and the Trans Canada Trail - who saw the potential of the 15 year Subaru/IMBA Trail Care Crew program here in Canada - we would not be celebrating three years of a successful IMBA Canada Trail Care Crew program. Thank you, once again, for making this dream come true!

Lora Woolner IMBA Canada Executive Director Support is also provided by Camelbak, Giro, Kryptonite and The North Face Canada.

Through hard work, planning, and enthusiasm, the following organizations have made Trail Care Crew visits a success!

2010

Bruce Peninsula National Park, ON St. Lawrence Islands National Park, ON Dalbix / ADSVMQ, QC Cycling PEI, PEI Annapolis Valley M.T.B. Association, NS Fundy National Park, NB Terra Nova National Park, NL Positive Action for Keppoch, NS Kouchibouguac National Park, NB Ottawa Mountain Bike Association, ON Endo Cycles, OB Manitoba Recreational Trails Association, MB Forks National Historic Site, MB Grasslands National Park, SK East Qu’Appelle Cartel, SK Riding Mountain National Park, Jasper National Park, AB Revelstoke Cycling Association, BC North Slocan Trails Society, BC Squamish-Lillooet Regional Trails, BC Gulf Islands National Park, BC

2011

Chatham-Kent Trails Council, ON Hamilton Cycling Club, ON Short Hills Cycling Club, ON Ontario Trails Council, ON South Saskatchewan Mountian Bike Club, SK

Grasslands National Park, SK Hinton Mountian Bike Association, AB Wood Buffalo National Park, NT Crow Wing Trail Association, MB Ghost Riders Mountain Bike Club, ON Black Sheep Cycling Club, ON Georgian Bay Islands National Park, ON Kelso Conservation Area / MTB Ontario, ON Club de Velo Mont Tremblant, QC Miramichi Mountain Bike Club, NB Village de Memramcook, NB West Coast Mountain Bike Association, NL Forillion National Park, QC Sarto Gagne / CVMBF, QC Discovery Routes / Forgotten Trails, ON Lake Superior National Marine Conservation Area, ON Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park, AB Canmore Nordic Centre Provincial Park, AB Moose Mountain Bike Trails Society, AB North Slocan Trails Society, BC Castlegar Friends of Parks and Trails, BC Golden Cycling Club, BC North Shore Mountain Bike Association, BC River City Cycles, BC Fort Rodd Hill National Historic Site, BC

2012

Georgian Bay Islands National Park, ON City of Toronto / TORBA, ON Bruce / Grey County, ON Georgina Township, ON Contagious MTB / City of Whitehorse, YT Kluane National Park, YT MTB Kingston, ON Les Amis des Sentiers de Bromont, QC Parc National Mauricie, QC Vallee du Parc, QC Wakefield Ensemble, QC Barrie Cycling Club / IMBA Ontario, ON Sault Cycling Club, ON Sault Canal National Historic Site, ON Fort St. Joseph National Historic Site, ON Body Driven Sports, MB Riding Mountain National Park, MB Athabasca Recreational Trails Association, AB Devon Bicycle Club, AB City of Red Deer, AB Banff National Park, AB Jasper National Park, AB Columbia Valley Cycling Society, BC Kimberley Trails Society, BC Wild Horse Cycling Club, BC Fraser Valley Mountain Bie Association, BC Powell River Cycling Association, BC Nanaimo Mountain Bike Club, BC

Upper Canada College, ON

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