If you have the interest, time and skill set, there are volunteer tasks you may wish to perform to assist GVTA. The tasks range from those that may take a few hours a month to other major roles. Inquiries and contributions are greatly appreciated. Some of the volunteer opportunities are outlined below.
Since the primary mandate of GVTA is to acquire and maintain trails in the Grand River watershed, trail maintenance is one of the major areas where one may wish to contribute. The primary focus of trail maintenance is the 275-km main trail stretching from Rockpoint Provincial Park on Lake Erie (south of Dunnville) to the top of the pinnacle in Alton, a small village near Orangeville.
You could become a Trail Captain. A Trail Captain is assigned a section of the trail to maintain. The section may be upwards of 5 km in length. Your task would be to check the trail conditions at least twice a year and to complete a Trail Report form that is submitted to one of four Trail Directors. In addition, a Trail Captain would perform routine maintenance especially during the growing season. Weed whacking, grass cutting and branch trimming are some examples of routine maintenance. Also, refreshing blazes is another important task. Such routine trail maintenance should be done by the Trail Captain and another volunteer or hiking friend, rather than alone. Larger tasks such as the installation of a footbridge, box culvert, side logging or stile, would normally be arranged and performed by a team consisting of the Trail Captain, Trail Director and other volunteers.
As an example, in the spring of 2007 a GVTA work crew built a 26-foot bridge over Idlewood Creek in Kitchener. This task is only one of many types of maintenance done by volunteers. Appearing to the left is a picture of the Idelwood Creek bridge building in its early stages. For more pictures check the GVTA Flickr Photos.
At this time the main trail is divided into four sections each one with a Trail Director (for the divisions, please see the list of Board of Directors). If you are interested in trail maintenance in any capacity, do not hesitate to inform us of your interest. If you have access to a newsletter, please use the Board contact list and call or e-mail one of the Trail Directors. If you are not currently a member, use the information on the Contact Us page to communicate your interest. Please allow a few days for a response as those monitoring e-mail and voicemail are volunteers.
A New Trail Section and Challenge - A relatively new Strategic Plan has, as one of its primary goals, the development of another section so the main trail would lead from the Belwood Lake area up to Luther Marsh. The implementation of this task will take time and is in the capable hands of Andrew, Trail Director, Pinnacle Section. Especially if you live in Wellington and Dufferin Counties and are interested in helping Andrew, please contact him.
There are numerous other volunteer tasks that are available and as important as trail maintenance. For examples of these other tasks, please visit the Volunteer Opportunities page.
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A donation of money is another helping option. Your donation would likely be used to support trail maintenance and bridge building. To make a financial contribution there are four options.
Make a pledge to the new GVT Charitable Organization Endowment Fund > click here for information and a pledge formBuy "Black Walnuts" as a way to support GVTA > details here
Updated 2010 JUNE 02 WEDNESDAY
