This article from the Record outlines what is being done with them.
Urban dwellers find nature, recreation in regional forests
080511Hovingh_A2 Regional planner Albert Hovingh oversees 16 forested areas owned by Waterloo Region.
David Bebee/Record staff
WATERLOO REGION — They are scattered throughout Waterloo Region, 16 regional forests and woodlands that connect hikers, birdwatchers and cyclists with nature.
“They are really quite rustic. They are different from city parks,” said Albert Hovingh, a forester and regional planner who oversees this network of forests that spans a total of 435 hectares.
Some are well known, while othe
s are seldom used by the public.
“The forest component of the region is a little bit under the radar but they really are some fabulous places to visit,” said Chuck Hammell of the Waterloo Cycling Club.
Hammell speaks with authority. As chair of the club’s trails committee, he oversees 24 kilometres of mountain bike trails through the Petersburg Regional Forest and the Waterloo Landfill Woodlands, two neighbouring wooded areas connected by a hydro-line corridor. The cycling club has an agreement with the region to develop and maintain the trails.
Hammell said this trail north of Waterloo has been touted as one of the best urban cross-country mountain bike facilities in North America because of its length and beauty. It attracts people both locally and from across Ontario.
Up to 200 mountain bikers, runners and hikers use it on a summer’s evening, he said.
As a competitive mountain biker race, Deputy Police Chief Brent Thomlison is one of trail’s fans.
“It is the place to go. It replicates the places that you would find” on the competitive racing circuit, Thomlison said.
Down the road in Cambridge, between 15 and 20 seniors walk every Tuesday morning “rain or shine,” often at one of three regional forests in Cambridge and North Dumfries Township.
“Personally I like the bush trails. You get out in the bushes and it is quiet … and you may meet a deer,” said group leader, Tom Boyd, 80, of Cambridge.
Since its inception in 1993, the Allan Reuter Centre Senior Walkers have raised enough money to purchase 20 benches, including three for the Sudden Regional Forest in North Dumfries. The cost of the weekly walk is $1 per person.
The 16 regional forests and woodlands vary in size from four hectares to 88 hectares. There are no picnic tables or public washrooms to protect their serenity and rustic nature.
Some date back to 1944 when the former County of Waterloo started acquiring derelict farmland and other properties for reforestation purposes. In 2003, more properties were donated to the region.
The region assumed ownership of the forests in the late 1990s from the Ministry of Natural Resources.
To increase their profile, the region is in the midst of erecting kiosks at the properties with signs depicting trail rules and uses to avoid conflicts between different users.
Hovingh, who is the region’s forestry department, said he has an annual budget of $39,000, and because of that, often relies on volunteer work and donations to maintain the forests.
For instance, in co-operation with the Waterloo Stewardship Network, a coalition of volunteers supported by the Ministry of Natural Resources, a tract of dead Red Pine trees at the Drynan Forest in North Dumfries Township was cleared to allow for the development of a hardwood forest which is more conducive to the area’s soil condition, he said.
Future plans include replacing the 400-metre long boardwalk at the Sudden Forest in North Dumfries Township, which is closed because its rotting condition makes it unsafe, Hovingh said.
“They are really quite rustic. They are different from city parks,” said Albert Hovingh, a forester and regional planner who oversees this network of forests that spans a total of 435 hectares.
Some are well known, while othe
s are seldom used by the public.
“The forest component of the region is a little bit under the radar but they really are some fabulous places to visit,” said Chuck Hammell of the Waterloo Cycling Club.
Hammell speaks with authority. As chair of the club’s trails committee, he oversees 24 kilometres of mountain bike trails through the Petersburg Regional Forest and the Waterloo Landfill Woodlands, two neighbouring wooded areas connected by a hydro-line corridor. The cycling club has an agreement with the region to develop and maintain the trails.
Hammell said this trail north of Waterloo has been touted as one of the best urban cross-country mountain bike facilities in North America because of its length and beauty. It attracts people both locally and from across Ontario.
Up to 200 mountain bikers, runners and hikers use it on a summer’s evening, he said.
As a competitive mountain biker race, Deputy Police Chief Brent Thomlison is one of trail’s fans.
“It is the place to go. It replicates the places that you would find” on the competitive racing circuit, Thomlison said.
Down the road in Cambridge, between 15 and 20 seniors walk every Tuesday morning “rain or shine,” often at one of three regional forests in Cambridge and North Dumfries Township.
“Personally I like the bush trails. You get out in the bushes and it is quiet … and you may meet a deer,” said group leader, Tom Boyd, 80, of Cambridge.
Since its inception in 1993, the Allan Reuter Centre Senior Walkers have raised enough money to purchase 20 benches, including three for the Sudden Regional Forest in North Dumfries. The cost of the weekly walk is $1 per person.
The 16 regional forests and woodlands vary in size from four hectares to 88 hectares. There are no picnic tables or public washrooms to protect their serenity and rustic nature.
Some date back to 1944 when the former County of Waterloo started acquiring derelict farmland and other properties for reforestation purposes. In 2003, more properties were donated to the region.
The region assumed ownership of the forests in the late 1990s from the Ministry of Natural Resources.
To increase their profile, the region is in the midst of erecting kiosks at the properties with signs depicting trail rules and uses to avoid conflicts between different users.
Hovingh, who is the region’s forestry department, said he has an annual budget of $39,000, and because of that, often relies on volunteer work and donations to maintain the forests.
For instance, in co-operation with the Waterloo Stewardship Network, a coalition of volunteers supported by the Ministry of Natural Resources, a tract of dead Red Pine trees at the Drynan Forest in North Dumfries Township was cleared to allow for the development of a hardwood forest which is more conducive to the area’s soil condition, he said.
Future plans include replacing the 400-metre long boardwalk at the Sudden Forest in North Dumfries Township, which is closed because its rotting condition makes it unsafe, Hovingh said.
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