About
Hiking |
News
Bruce Trail Conservancy weekend in Tobermory (2009) This past September the Peninsula Bruce Trail Club hosted the Bruce Trail Conservancy Annual General Meeting at the Community Centre in Tobermory. The AGM was only part of a weekend full of activities including hikes and a variety of presentations. The AGM was integrated with the sixth annual Peninsula Outdoor Festival. Beginning with Friday registration and a social evening at the Community Centre the three hundred members attending the two events were treated to a fascinating presentation by National Park naturalist and Biosphere Association president Sean Liipere on the complex nature of our UNESCO Biosphere and the large network of groups working to preserve our treasured escarpment. Saturday morning while the Annual Meeting of the Conservancy was held at the Community Centre, the Outdoor Festival attendees participated in a wide variety of hikes and workshops including botanical, insect and reptiles/amphibian tours, hikes to Bootlegger’s Cave and a natural history tour of Flowerpot Island, as well as a workshop on wilderness survival. The afternoon sessions combined all the registrants for both events and offered workshops on the history of the Bruce Trail, a geology tour, naturalists tour of the Dorcas Bay boardwalk, the hardwood café tour, a history tour of the “Tub”, GPS skills, a kayak tour of the local shoreline and a couple of repeats of the morning sessions. The highlight of the weekend undoubtedly was the Chi-Cheemaun ferry cruise along the shore from Tobermory to the famous ‘grotto’ in the National Park. This was a spectacular cruise in the calm sunny sunset of a glorious day typical of the Peninsula end of summer. On the cruise the winners of the Peninsula Club fundraiser raffle were drawn by Northern Bruce Peninsula mayor Milt McIver and Counsellor Ray Burns. The raffle raised over $4000 for the work of the Bruce Trail. A special thanks to the cruise sponsors Owen Sound Transportation – owners of the Chi Cheemaun and to Bullfrog Power who ‘Bullfrog powered’ the rest of the indoor events. Following the cruise the AGM registrants were treated to an excellent dinner on board served by the staff of the Chi Cheemaun in the ship dining room. The evening was completed by the presentation of the annual volunteer service awards, and special awards including the volunteer of the year award this year presented to Iroquoia ‘Mac’ McDonald, Other major awards were presented to veteran Bruce Trail leaders - Sydenham’s well known Ron Savage and Beaver Valley’s Jack Morgan. The great weather held for the Sunday hikes which saw the traditional Bruce Trail AGM series of short, medium and long hike distance hikes – a competition among the nine member clubs. The Lloyd Smith walking stick award was won by the Beaver Valley Club. The Outdoor Festival participants were treated to a choice of hiking a loop at the Chris Walker Nature Reserve at Rush Cove or an inaugural hike on a newly constructed trail on Sydney Bluff.
|
