A ground-breaking day for Guelph Lake Rotary Trail

It was a ground-breaking day for the Grand River Conservation Authority, the Grand River Conservation Foundation and the Rotary Club of Guelph on November 4 when members from the Club’s Rotary Forest Committee put shovels in the ground to celebrate the start of the Rotary Trail.

The new Rotary Trail is one of the projects the club is undertaking as part of their 100^th anniversary celebration in 2020. Once complete, the trail will feature a 1.4 kilometre loop that winds its way through the Guelph Lake Rotary Forest. Since 2008, the club has held an annual Rotary Earth Day event, offering the community the opportunity to plant trees and create this new 100 acre forest.

“The Rotary Forest has been thirteen years in the making, and we couldn’t be more excited about completing the trail as part of the final season,” said Dave Latreille, Chair of the Rotary Forest Committee. “People will be able to enjoy nature and a great view of Guelph Lake along the trail.” The trail will be dedicated at the final Rotary Forest event on April 25, 2020.

“We are so grateful to the club for its long-term vision. There are few donors who are willing to commit to a project for more than a decade; it is a testament to their commitment to the community, and to our environment.” said Sara Wilbur, Executive Director of the Grand River Conservation Foundation.

The Rotary Club of Guelph and the Rotary Club of Guelph Charitable Foundation have committed $600,000 for projects at Guelph Lake. These projects include the new trail, a lead contribution to the new Guelph Lake Nature Centre, the establishment of an astronomy program at Guelph Lake Nature Centre, and the creation of a trail link from Victoria Road leading to the Guelph Lake Rotary Forest.

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Media contacts:

Cam Linwood, GRCA Communications Coordinator
Phone 519-621-2763 x2251  |  Email clinwood@grandriver.ca 

Lisa Stocco, GRCA Manager of Communications
Phone 519-621-2763 x2316 |  Email lstocco@grandriver.ca

GRCA and GRCF staff along with members from the Rotary Club of Guelph participate in a ceremonial ground-breaking of the Rotary Trail on November 4, 2019. (From left: Greg Meredith, Martin Neumann, Sara Wilbur, Rotary Club of Guelph President Carolyn Weatherson, Ron Wu-Winter, Rotary Forest Committee Chair Dave Latreille, Rotary Forest Committee members Bob Richardson and Jan Jofriet.