Community support for new pedestrian walkway can help to fully realize the dream at Bayfield River Flats, according to Bayfield River Valley Trail Association
Trail association preparing a fundraising campaign to ask public for help to create new walkway to connect community to nature at Bayfield River Flats, a property preserved by Huron Tract Land Trust Conservancy
A new pedestrian walkway can complete the dream of Bayfield and area people to ‘connect the community with nature’ at Bayfield River Flats, according to Huron Tract Land Trust Conservancy (HTLTC) and Bayfield River Valley Trail Association (BRVTA). It will cost more than $50,000 to complete the walkway and the organizations say public support is needed to make the walkway a reality. The project team plans to hold a fundraising campaign between November 15 and December 15, 2023.
Fundraising activities include a ‘Walkway to the Finish Line’ evening. The event is at the Bayfield Town Hall on Wednesday, December 13, 2023 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Help us connect the Bayfield and area community with nature.
Help make it possible, with your donation, to add a new pedestrian walkway to make it safer and easier for people to connect with nature at the Bayfield River Flats.
Donations of $20 or more are eligible for a charitable gift receipt, for income tax purposes, from Ausable Bayfield Conservation Foundation, on behalf of Huron Tract Land Trust Conservancy.
There are easy ways to donate. Choose the way that works best for you:
Call us
To donate to the Bayfield River Flats Walkway, you may phone 519-235-2610 or toll-free 1-888-286-2610.
Or, you may donate using any of the other easy ways listed below:
Donate by credit card or debit card
You may donate by credit card or debit card at the provided link or you can call our office at phone number above.
(If you click the link, there are options to ‘Donate with PayPal’ or to ‘Donate with Debit or Credit Card.’ If you would like to donate by credit card or debit card, please select the second option provided after you click the link).
Donate by cheque
You may mail a cheque to:
Huron Tract Land Trust Conservancy, 71108 Morrison Line, RR 3, Exeter, ON N0M 1S5
Make cheque payable to: Huron Tract Land Trust Conservancy
(When paying by e-Transfer, please provide us with your contact information so we are able to provide you with a charitable gift receipt for income tax purposes. Be sure to let us know, in the e-Transfer message box/field, that the donation is for the Bayfield River Flats Walkway.)
Donate by e-Transfer
You may donate easily, to the Bayfield River Flats Walkway, by e-Transfer using the email address donations@abca.ca
Be sure to let us know, in the e-Transfer message box/field, that the donation is for the Bayfield River Flats Walkway.
If you would like to receive a charitable gift receipt for income tax purposes please be sure to include your mailing address and/or email address in the e-Transfer message box.
Donate in person
You are welcome to come into our office to donate.
We are located at 71108 Morrison Line, two kilometres east of Exeter, just south of Highway 83.
You can also provide a cheque, to Huron Tract Land Trust Conservancy, to one of the members of the fundraising team.
Donate by PayPal
You may also donate through PayPal at the link below.
(If you click the link, there are options to ‘Donate with PayPal’ or to ‘Donate with Debit or Credit Card.’ If you would like to donate by PayPal, please select the first option provided after you click the link).
However you choose to donate, we thank your for your support of your community.
It really makes a difference.
Join us on this walkway to the finish line of the Bayfield River Flats project.
The Bayfield River Flats is owned by HTLTC and is protected permanently as a habitat for wildlife. “The Flats is a natural gem only a short walk from Bayfield’s Main Street,” said HTLTC Chair Max Morden. “Home to eagles and ospreys and species at risk, it’s a place where people can both appreciate and preserve nature.” Volunteers from the Trail Association manage the property at no cost to the public.
The land trust’s Chair encourages local people to watch for announcements about the fundraising campaign and for details on the December 13 evening in support of the project. Updates, and opportunities to donate, are posted on the Bayfield River Flats web page.
(Scenic photo, at Bayfield River Flats, by Jack Pal)
Roger Lewington is Past Chair of HTLTC. He thanks the trail association for leading the fundraising initiative to make the walkway possible. The new walkway will connect to an existing under-the-bridge walkway at the Bayfield River Flats site. This new feature will make it safer and easier for people to reach and enjoy this special riverbank nature area.
“The trail association and the community had a dream to buy and preserve the Bayfield River Flats,” Lewington said. “The creation of the new pedestrian walkway will safely link people and nature and it will make it possible to fully realize the dream for this site.”
Bayfield River Valley Trail Association led a fundraising campaign, in 2017, to purchase the Bayfield River Flats site. Community support was overwhelming, with donations of more than $70,000 to buy the property. The trail association manages the property and donated it to the land trust so the property will be preserved permanently.
The project team is excited to announce the proposed walkway has received the permissions required to make it happen and now the team will turn its attention to mobilizing the public support needed to make it reality.
Thanks to generous and visionary public donations of land and money, the Huron Tract Land Trust Conservancy protects these important nature areas: Warner Preserve (2023) in Grand Bend, donated by Peter Warner and his late wife Esther; Heaman Tract (2019), near Ailsa Craig, donated by Janet Heaman in memory of Jack Heaman; Woodburne Farm (2018), near Goderich, donated by Ilse Elliott and her late husband William Elliott; Bayfield River Flats (2017), donated by Bayfield River Valley Trail Association (BRVTA) and community donors; and Mayhew Tract (2015), near Holmesville, donated by the Mayhew Family, in memory of Jack and Iris Mayhew.
The Bayfield River Valley Trail Association (BRVTA) was founded in 2006. The association maintains seven recreational trails in and around Bayfield, Ontario. The volunteers from the association schedule more than 20 guided hikes each year. This gives residents of all ages and fitness levels the opportunity to enjoy the area’s natural beauty. Bayfield River Valley Trail Association is an all-volunteer, registered non-profit organization, dedicated to supporting a healthy and environmentally conscious community.
Visit the Huron Tract Land Trust Conservancy website and the Bayfield River Valley Trails website to learn more.