If you have looked at the map of the Trans Canada Trail, it’s something of a wonder to see the continuous path that snakes from one side of the country to the other.
The route consists of segments that are heartily taken care of by local groups across Canada. For retiree Fred Dueck, the stretch of the trail between Altona and Gretna is the project into which he pours his passion. He is chairman of the trail committee that manages the path at the south edge of the communities.
A thriving project
The committee's enthusiasm for maintaining the trail is matched by its popularity with residents.
“We were actually surprised at the amount of usage. It's pretty rare to be able to go out there and not meet one or more people on the trail,” says Dueck. “From both ends, we're seeing people walk, bike, run, get out there, and enjoy the environment. People like to see the sunset, the sunrises, the crops, and just be in nature.”
To ensure the path is hospitable to its traffic, the committee spent the summer hard at work making improvements to the trail. New signage and benches have been added, and its surface has been maintained.
“We've [also] seeded some natural grasses along the outside edges of what's already grass, so we're anxiously waiting for that to develop into an area where people can actually see grasses and other plants that were historically part of the plant population in this area,” says Dueck.
In addition to offering a glimpse into how the region looked long ago, the natural grasses have the benefit of being low maintenance. Dueck says that while some of the vegetation was mowed down in the summer for the comfort of walkers (and pets) who were concerned about wildlife hiding in the grass, it won’t be touched other than that.
Connecting to nature
In summer, the trail committee also worked on a project that will use technology to help inform path users. The idea is to install signs with QR codes. The code will make information about the surrounding native plant species accessible to people on the go.
“[If] you're out there and you're seeing a field and you don't know what the field is, maybe we'll have a sign with a QR code that you can scan and it will tell you what the crop is,” says Dueck. “We're trying to make it more interactive and more interesting for people who may not be familiar with the history of this area and the native plants and farming and all those sorts of things.”
Trees and more trees
Now that the goals of the summer have been achieved or are underway, the trail committee is looking to what’s on the horizon for next year — an ambitious tree project.
“We're hoping to plant several hundred trees next summer as a starting year, [we’ll] see how that goes. It should make the trail significantly more interesting over time,” says Dueck. “We have a plan that was put together for us by professional landscape planners. [The] trees [in the plan] are native to the area, and we have them all arranged to suit the soil quality.”
Dueck says that the soil near Altona is quite different from the soil in Gretna, so the tree varieties will be adjusted to take advantage of each area’s natural features.
Addressing concerns
The plan is to plant the trees in small groves of 5–8 down the trail.
“The trees will be planted in small groups fairly close to the trail surface,” says Dueck, adding that there have been some objections to the project. “We had some concerns from adjoining landowners that trees . . . would be blowing down and branches would be on their farmland, and that too many trees would cause large snow drifts and so on, but we think we've addressed all those issues with the plan.”
The tree plan, complete with a map and the species of trees, can be found on Altona’s Trans Canada Trail website at the bottom.
Related stories:
- Phase 2 of upgrade to the Trans Canada Trail in Municipality of Rhineland starts this spring
- Resurfacing of Trans Canada Trail from Altona to Gretna now complete
Even amid questions about how the trees will affect their immediate environment, Dueck says that there has also been quite a lot of community buy-in.
“I have to say that the farmers and the landowners have been very supportive. Obviously, this is a change in use over the last couple of years, and so we're all adapting to that,” he says. “We've had really good conversations with these folks, . . . and they understand that this is a valuable addition and has a major role in what people can do around Altona. It’s going well, I think. We're open to feedback. If anybody wants to talk to us, please feel free to call or email. We'd like to hear from you.”
The community’s impact
Dueck says that the trail projects are largely funded by public donations, corporate support, and community programs. Recently, the Altona Community Foundation donated funds to the native grass project to help upgrade and improve the natural environment of the trail.
Although Dueck says that the trail committee has a “very large” support base that has helped it through its phases, there is still fundraising to do for the tree project.
“We have supporters now who are going to start sponsoring trees. If someone is interested, that's something a private person can do,” he says. “You could sponsor one tree — you could sponsor 100 trees. Trees are probably going to cost us in the neighbourhood of $100 each.”
For those who would like to offer support in another form, Dueck has a suggestion.
“The number one thing is to get out there and use the trail,” he says. “We appreciate seeing people out there, and it’s rewarding to see the trail being developed and then having people actually use it.”
Click here to see more information about the Trans Canada Trail between Altona and Gretna.
~With files from Zack Driedger~