Nature Walk for our Environment
2008 Nature Walk for Our Environment
On Saturday, June 14th, join local environmental organizations as we celebrate the beauty of nature right in our own city. We'll be walking along the magnificent Dundas Rail Trail to raise funds and awareness for local environmental initiatives. This is your chance to help protect nature in your community while having fun!
The Nature Walk for Our Environment is a joint venture of local environmental clubs and organizations including Hamilton Naturalists' Club (HNC), Iroquoia Bruce Trail Club, Green Venture, Royal Botanical Gardens, Hamilton Conservation Authority, Bay Area Restoration Council, Environment Hamilton, Conserver Society, Field and Stream Rescue Team, and others. There is also generous support from Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation and the TD Friends of the Environment Foundation.
As with the 2007 Nature Walk for Our Environment, all funds raised will support local environmental projects and walkers can designate a portion of the funds they raise to support the programs and projects of any local environmental group participating in the walk. The Club will be using funds raised to support the Head-of-the-Lake Land Trust program.
Starting and finishing at University Plaza, behind Shopper's Drug Mart, in Dundas, the 5 or 10km walk follows the popular Hamilton to Brantford Rail Trail to the Dundas Valley Trail Centre and on the return route there is an option to take the scenic Spring Creek Trail. At the Trail centre you will be able to view many nature displays, learn about local conservation projects and how you can help.
Can't make the walk? Please consider sponsoring HNC President Jim Stollard, the official walker for the Club. If you wish to sponsor Jim online, just click on the Sponsor Jim Stollard button to the left. This will take you to the Canada Helps website. Click on the "Donate Now" button and you will be taken to a secure page. Choose "Nature Walk for Our Environment" from the Fund/Designation drop-down list.
Don't have time to get sponsors? Simply make a donation ($20 suggested) when you register for the walk.
Download 2008 Nature Walk Sponsor Form (pdf)
For further information contact Jen Baker at (905) 524-3339 or land@hamiltonnature.org.
Who's Behind The Project?
The Nature Walk for Our Environment Steering Committee gives special thanks to our event sponsors and hosts!
The Greenbelt wraps around the Golden Horseshoe and is vital to the quality of life in southern Ontario. There's so much to see and do in the Greenbelt. It's beautiful, bountiful, vibrant and environmentally diverse - important for Ontarians now and worth saving for future generations.
Visit website: www.ourgreenbelt.ca
The TD Friends of the Environment Foundation proudly supports the efforts of Canadians who are dedicated to the well-being of our environment. Since 1990, TD Friends of the Environment Foundation has contributed over $44 million in support of more than 17,000 environmental projects in communities across Canada.
Visit website: www.td.com/fef
In 1958 the Spencer Creek Conservation Authority was established. In 1964 it became the Hamilton Conservation Authority expanding into the City of Hamilton and the Town of Stoney Creek. This year we are celebrating our 50 years of environmental leadership in the community. Today, over 10,000 acres of natural lands are protected by the HCA with conservations areas spread across the watershed from Puslinch Township to Winona on the shores of Lake Ontario.
Visit website: www.conservationhamilton.ca
IVANHOE-CAMBRIDGE is a pre-eminent Canadian-based global property owner, manager, developer and investor. Our mission is to provide welcoming and entertaining regional and super regional shopping destinations to retailers and consumers.
Visit website: www.ivanhoecambridge.com
The Royal Botanical Gardens' mission is to be a living museum which serves local, regional and global communities while developing and promoting public understanding of the relationship between the plant world, humanity and the rest of nature.
Visit website: www.rbg.ca
Wild Birds Unlimited is the first and largest franchise system of retail stores catering to the backyard bird feeding hobbyist. We opened our first store in 1981 and we now have more than 300 stores throughout North America.
Visit website: www.wbu.com
Visit website: www.runnersden.com
Partners
Nature Walk for Our Environment is a joint effort supported by a variety of environmental groups from Hamilton and Burlington.
Hamilton Naturalists' Club is your nature and environmental group in Hamilton, Burlington, and surrounding Head-of-the-Lake areas. The Head-of-the-Lake Land Trust is the HNC's program to protect natural areas in Hamilton, Burlington and surrounding areas.
Visit website: www.hamiltonnature.org
The Iroquoia Bruce Trail Club is one of nine regional clubs of the Bruce Trail Conservancy. This membership organization governs and coordinates maintenance and public relations for the Bruce Trail. A world-renowned Hiking Trail winding 782km from Queenston on the Niagara Peninsula, to Tobermory at the tip of the Bruce Peninsula, the Bruce Trail boasts picturesque views, scenic landscapes and 290km of additional side trails.
Visit website: www.iroquoia.on.ca
Green Venture is a community-based non-profit organization. Green Venture supports Greater-Hamilton residents in protecting public health through environmental conservation. The group engages the public through EcoHouse, our website, seasonal newsletters, presentations, workshops, public and community events, and other activities.
Visit website: www.greenventure.ca
In 1958 the Spencer Creek Conservation Authority was established. In 1964 it became the Hamilton Conservation Authority expanding into the City of Hamilton and the Town of Stoney Creek. This year we are celebrating our 50 years of environmental leadership in the community. Today, over 10,000 acres of natural lands are protected by the HCA with conservations areas spread across the watershed from Puslinch Township to Winona on the shores of Lake Ontario.
Visit website: www.conservationhamilton.ca
The Bay Area Restoration Council(BARC) is a community not-for-profit group that assesses and promotes clean-up projects for the Hamilton Harbour and its watershed. BARC works with all levels of government and the private sector to keep harbour restoration issues at the forefront of community discussions and decision-making.
Visit website: www.hamiltonharbour.ca
Field and Stream Rescue Team is a registered, non-profit charitable organization that operates in Burlington. Our goal is to provide sustainable, natural habitat for plants and animals in urban areas. We clean up area watercourses, pick up garbage and plant native trees and shrubs in an effort to return environmentally stressed areas to their natural state.
Visit website: www.streamrescue.com
The mission of the Conserver Society of Hamilton and District is to promote solutions for a sustainable environment through education, community action, advocacy and collaboration.
Visit website: www.conserversociety.ca
Environment Hamilton was incorporated as a not-for-profit organization in 2001 with a central mandate to facilitate the ability of people in the Hamilton area to develop the knowledge and skills they need to protect and enhance the environment around them.
Visit website: www.environmenthamilton.org
Hamilton Area Eco-Network i(Eco-Net) is a non-profit organization created to network the area's environmental organizations and build their capacity.
Visit website: www.hamiltoneconet.ca
Nature Walk 2007 with Sarah Harmer Raises $10,000 for Local Environmental Projects
Sarah Harmer presents Jeremy Ernest (age 10) with his prize (binoculars donated by Wild Birds Unlimited) as the top youth fundraiser
The Great Horned Owls, Wild Turkeys and Coyotes that live at the Cartwright Nature Sanctuary in the Pleasant View area of Dundas don't know it, but today their home is one step closer to being permanently protected. Paying off the mortgage on the nature sanctuary was the focus project for the HNC's Nature Walk for Our Environment, held Saturday June 2nd on Hamilton's Waterfront Trail.
Over 100 people participated in the event, which featured Juno Award winning singer/songwriter and environmentalist Sarah Harmer as Grand Marshall. The walk, which was organized by the Hamilton Naturalists' Club (HNC) through It's Head-of-the-Lake Land Trust, was based at the Parks Canada Discovery Centre on Pier 8. After the walk, participants enjoyed a lunch on the centre's new patio and a short program featuring Sarah Harmer, with Hamilton Councillor Brian McHattie as MC. The festivities also included screenings of Harmer's film Escarpment Blues, displays from the many local environmental groups including the Iroquoia Bruce Trail Club, Royal Botanical Gardens, Environment Hamilton, Protecting Escarpment Rural Lands (PERL), HNC and the Head-of-the-Lake Land Trust and free rides on the Hamilton Waterfront Trust's trolley.
Hamilton Naturalists' Club President Paul Attack announced that the walk raised about $10,000. Prizes were awarded to the top fundraisers with Frank Ernest of Ancaster winning the adult category with $1,540 in sponsorships. Frank's grandson Jeremy Ernest, 10, of Carlisle took the youth prize raising $365.
Generous sponsorship from the Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation and the TD Canada Trust Friends of the Environment Foundation, coupled with the work of 30 volunteers allowed every cent raised to go directly towards protecting the Cartwright Nature Sanctuary and supporting the local environmental partner groups designated by walkers.
The HNC plans to make the Nature Walk for Our Environment an annual event and invites schools and groups undertaking environmental projects to participate and share in the proceeds of future walks.
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