ANOTHER WORK TEAM ON THE BRUCE TRAIL by Ross McLean

More and more corporate groups are looking at a day of community service as an exercise in team bonding while at the same time making a contribution to the area in which they live.

One group, PCL, had seen the website with the story of the Badlands remediation project with the Upper Canada College students.  Their leader called to see if they too could help out.  On Monday June 4, about 25 employees arrived on site, complete with tools for the job.

PCL is a leading construction company, responsible for both the Pearson airport and the Air Canada Centre.  Usually their equipment involves more than wheelbarrows and shovels.  They wanted to make a community contribution, but there were not many groups which could use a large group of volunteers close to Toronto.

The Badlands still needed some difficult work: about 100 m still had to be completed from a month ago.  The task involved using the wheelbarrows to move gravel about 600 m.  It was tough work!

The website had shown pictures of the students moving gravel along flat ground.  But this task involved a much longer haul and a steep stream valley.  By the end of the day, all were ready for a hot soak and a massage!

But they made a difference.  By the end of the day the task had been completed to a level of quality that will ensure that this popular area will not be damaged by the multitude of hikers who regularly walk here.

The advantage of a large group is that a major project can be completed more quickly, without "burning out" the regular club volunteers.  As well, with the effort comes a sense of ownership of the project.  We hope that the individuals will return later with family and friends to brag about their contribution to the trail.

If you know of a corporate group who would like to get involved in such a project, just email Marsha Russell at Bruce Trail headquarters: mrussell@brucetrail.org

A HELPING HAND FROM VOLUNTEER GROUPS by Ross McLean

I have always believed in utilizing large groups of volunteers to complete trail work.  Perhaps the quality initially is not what you wish, but errors and omissions can be corrected by senior volunteers at a later date.  But a large group gets the satisfaction of seeing the work completed quickly, and there is a sense of completion and of camaradarie.

Last year Jackie Randle distributed information about corporate groups that were interested in working on the Trail.  More and more businesses are recognizing the value of community contribution and as well, the team-bonding that takes place will show its results in the office.

Certainly it takes some organization by the club's Trail Director, and you have to have club volunteers on the scene to help direct the efforts.  But both projects which Caledon Hills attempted proved to be very positive experiences.

The first was Bayer, the Health Care company.  We had a project which the Caledon club had been unable to complete: the Laing property had been purchased by the Bruce Trail some time ago and the optimum route was mapped on its land.  Dave Moule designed a route to maximize the features of the property and offered his farm as a picnic spot.

Twelve volunteers arrived early in the morning, complete with cups of Tim Horton's.  The first task was to carry in and then build a 24 foot bridge/boardwalk that was located about a five minute walk from the road.  The second task was to open up the trail route through a beautiful wooded valley.

By noon we were finished and we turned to the farm to be greeted by a feast of ribs, sausages and chicken wings.  (One of the volunteers was a great chef.) The group received a Volunteer Appreciation Award and each participant a Bruce Trail keychain as a token of appreciation.  The in the afternoon we headed to the nearby Tom East Side Trail for a hike; for many of the volunteers, it was their first time on the Bruce Trail.

The next company, Cadbury-Schweppes, had even more ambitious plans: they would bring 36 staff for a half day's work.  In late morning, a bus pulled up and the volunteers emerged, complete with new work gloves, box lunches and a fresh T-shirt.  They divided themselves into five work teams, each named after an NHL club.  To each was assigned a Caledon Hills volunteer to help give some direction. We even had two men on crutches and a lady who was 8 months pregnant!  But a job could be found for everyone and with so many hands we were able to accomplish a lot.

Chris Walker, the BTA Trail Director, wrote the next day to the Cadbury-Schweppes leaders:

Thank you so much for organizing your company for yesterday's very successful work day....[Our team was] an exceptional group to work with...we were able to design, construct and finish a 30 foot boardwalk across a wet area....Thank you again to all of you for your help."

The Cadbury -Schweppes leader emailed us immediately: "It was truly a pleasure...I know our team felt they made a difference while also getting some fresh air and building team relationships. We really did gain a lot out of the day."

From this kind of involvement comes a lot of rewards: we gain an vastly improved trail, and another community group learns about the Trail and the riches of the escarpment.

If you have a group of employees interested in volunteering, please contact  Marsha Russell at mrussell@brucetrail.org