“The true meaning of life is to plant trees under whose shade you do not expect to sit.” – Nelson Henderson
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ONLY 12 sets of our 10th Anniversary patches depicting L-Lake, Ipperwash, Mystery Falls and the Heart of the Trails are available for a $20 donation. Please contact Linda Attard lsntlindaa@gmail.com or 519-243-1596
Sadly, John passed away in February 2024 after a brief illness. After emigrating from Hungary to Canada in 1957 John enjoyed a long career as a chemist.
He loved the outdoors and helped to create the Ausable River Valley Trail in 1973. Located east of Arkona, this 12 km (out and back) trail is one of the region’s most challenging trails and a showpiece of the beauty of the area’s natural history. John was a section leader for one of the trail’s maintenance crews for many years.
Whenever LSNT did work in the Ausable River Valley John would drive from Bright’s Grove to volunteer his labour. He enjoyed the distinction of being our oldest ever volunteer, at age 88, when he helped to clear a side trail for a new bench along the Ausable River in fall 2023.
John was a committed volunteer whose passion to develop, maintain and improve hiking trails contributed to a trail system dedicated to the enjoyment of hikers in a user-friendly, well-maintained environment. John’s selfless acts and generosity were evident in his tireless work and inspired those who volunteered with him. His opinions were always valued and will be sorely missed.
Though John may no longer be with us in person, his presence will live on in the trails that he worked so hard to maintain, as well as in the fond memories of those who worked along side him. He was much respected for his positive attitude and his willingness to lend a helping hand whenever called upon.
Thank you, John, for your unwavering commitment to the outdoors and for making our community a better place.
Please visit our Helping Hands page to learn more about our selfless volunteers who give back to the community!
A Love Lock Stand has been installed along the Grand Trunk Trail behind the trailhead in Forest. Thanks to Mike, Christine, Lee M, William, Ed and Ross for their efforts getting this installed.
Love locks are a romantic tradition where couples affix a padlock to a public structure and throw away the key as a symbol of their everlasting love and commitment to each other. Typically, couples will write their names, initials, or personal messages on the padlock before attaching it.
Create a special memory with your love at the Grand Trunk Love Lock Stand by attaching your padlock and depositing the key in the attached box.
Special thanks to Lee Main for his craftsmanship and welding skills.
We hosted our annual health and wellness bazaar at the Port Franks Community Centre. Despite the damp weather, over 150 people dropped by. Khaos Artisan Kitchen served a delicious assortment of sweet and savoury treats, breads, soups, sandwiches and gluten free lunch boxes.
Our 26 vendors offered something for everyone including household items, jewelry, health and wellness products, mental health coaching, local art, crafts, quilts and much much more. We also had several health and wellness mini sessions which included mudra yoga, emotional freedom tapping technique, mini oracle readings, and reiki. We would like to thank our tireless volunteers for their help in making this such a successful day. We would also like to thank our diverse group of vendors who made the day a success.
LSNT has blended the formidable-to-tackle Ausable River Valley and Mystery Falls Trails and the easy-to-use what3words app to create a fun way to earn a what3words CHALLENGE patch.
Volunteers worked to clear, trim and blaze a new loop trail in the Ausable River Valley north of the MacDonald entrance. This adds another ~3km over a similar terrain to the rest of the network.
Special thanks to Ed, Lee, Fran and Ross for creating an accessible path at the Ausable River Cut Conservation Area. The picnic table sits on the cement foundation of the former cinder block building that was demolished in 2022 by our volunteers.
The rise in water level on Mud Creek was problematic for LSNT. We used galvanized posts vertically stuck into the creek bed to hold the floating dock in place. This allowed the to dock to rise and fall with the water levels. Unfortunately, the water level got too high and lifted the dock above the posts. A creative solution was fabricated by using two of these galvanized posts attached directly from the deck to the floating dock with a flexible joint on either end. Thanks to Lee Main for his fabrication skills!
A dedicated group of volunteers came prepared with rubber boots, muscles and enthusiasm to help rebuild the path from the bottom of the stairs to the creek at Mystery Falls. This stabilization effort required them to lift heavy rocks, buckets of gravel and build a retained wall. Thanks to Lee M, Lee T, Mike, Christine, William, Ed, Paul and Ross for getting this project done in under 3 hours!
Please visit our archives page to see more of our work!
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