Support the BRVTA

The Bayfield River Valley Trail Association maintains seven recreational trails and sponsors over 20 guided hikes each year, giving residents of all ages and fitness levels the opportunity to enjoy the area’s natural beauty. 

The Bayfield Trails are managed entirely by volunteers and are paid for by community donations and annual memberships from people like YOU!

Your membership contribution allows our volunteers to keep the trails open, covering expenses such as materials and tools, programming, training, signage and insurance. 

As a member you will receive invitations to participate in all organized hikes, as well as an opportunity to join the hiking buddy program. You will also receive invitations to the Columbia Sportswear discount store and the monthly electronic newsletter. Best of all, you'll be helping us keep the trails open for everyone, every day of the year.

Individual membership $20.00/year  –  Family Membership $30.00/year

To become a member or to renew your membership, please choose the Membership Type (Individual or Family) and then click 'Subscribe' which will give you yearly automatic payment renewal, unless canceled by yourself or our administrator.

Alternately you can make your cheque payable to the Bayfield River Valley Trail Association and mail it to P.O. Box 531, Bayfield, N0M 1G0

Or you can send an e-transfer to bayfieldtrailsassociation@gmail.com

In either of the above options, please include your contact information!

To make a donation, please click 'Donate'.  Then choose Bayfield Trails from the drop-down menu

A donation of $50.00 or more will entitle you to an official tax receipt

Alternately you can make your cheque payable to:

Ausable Bayfield Conservation Foundation, 71108 Morrison Line, RR #3, Exeter, N0M 1S5

Community support for new pedestrian walkway can help to fully realize the dream at Bayfield River Flats, according to Bayfield River Valley Trail Association

Bayfield Trail association is preparing a fundraising campaign to ask public for help to create new walkway to connect community with 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 is holding a fundraising campaign December 13, 2023 at 7:00 PM at the Bayfield Town Hall. Fundraising activities include a ‘walkway to the finish line’ evening.

The Bayfield River Flats is owned by HTLTC and the land trust protects it 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 further details about the fundraising campaign on the planned ‘Walkway to the Future’ evening in support of the project. Updates, and opportunities to donate, are posted on the Bayfield River Flats web page (https://htltc.ca/bayfield-river-flats/).

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 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 https://htltc.ca/ and https://www.bayfieldtrails.com/ to learn more.
 
MEDIA CONTACT: Roger Lewington, Past Chair, Huron Tract Land Trust Conservancy, phone 519-525-8567 or email rplewington@gmail.com.

Tim Cumming
Communications Specialist
Huron Tract Land Trust Conservancy (HTLTC),
c/o Ausable Bayfield Conservation Foundation
71108 Morrison Line, RR 3 Exeter, ON, N0M 1S5
(Telephone) 519-235-2610 • (Toll-free) 1-888-286-2610
(Mobile) 519-719-3805 • (Facsimile) 519-235-1963 • htltc.ca