Earlier this month the Stewardship Program held its' annual Master Steward Training in preparation for property visits this field season. The Master Stewards visit with landowners to tour their property and speak with them about good stewardship practices for their property. Everything from healthy forest management to shoreline re-naturalization to creating habitat for wildlife and trail building.

We had a fastastic weekend of learning! The following is a photo journal of our weekend spent talking, learning and experiencing stewardship in Muskoka.

This is most of the group at the end of the weekend. Thanks for a great weekend and for being super volunteers!

Master Steward Paula led us in a creative icebreaker that involved gathering from the forest to make a food or drink to share!

Matt and Chad explain their concoction.

The group listens to Master Steward Chris Near as he speaks about trail building.

The Master Steward volunteers listen intently.

The Master Stewards gaze up at the canopy as we listen to our guest speaker, Forester Scott Reid.

Scott speaks with the group about common tree diseases in Muskoka.

The Master Stewards identify trees and note their defect in a field exercise with Scott.

Master Stewards cross the stream on a bridge built by a landowner during a property visit at the Master Steward training.

Master Steward Chris Near speaks about trails in the field as a follow-up to his morning presentation.

The Master Stewards hike up a path using a railing along one of the trails at the property visit.

Master Steward Chris Gilmour gives a talk about wild edibles of Muskoka.

Some of the wild edibles Master Steward Chris Gilmour brought with him to share with the group- at our own risk!

Master Steward Chad give a talk on the importance of downed woody material in the forest and the art he creates from it.

Master Steward Ariel Zwicker speaks about her family maple syrup operation in Muskoka.

Thanks to the Master Stewards for their participation and passion for conservation through private stewardship in Muskoka!

Are you a landowner who would like a property visit from a Master Steward? Your property must be at least 5 acres. For more information click on the "About Us" tab or the "Contact Us" tab at the top of the page.

Trail Building: Lessons from Cape Breton Highlands National Park

At the end of May, my partner Chris and I took a little road trip to Nova Scotia. One of the reasons we went was to hike some of the trails in Cape Breton Highlands National Park. It is an absolutely beautiful area of our country. Along with the stunning landscapes and oceanscapes, we saw moose, a fox, some snakes, birds, and listened to the coyotes bark at night while camping.

The park sees a lot of visitors each year. To keep the trails in good condition a lot of hard work is done to build, maintain, and upgrade the hiking trails. While hiking, we observed some really interesting and solidly build bridges, culverts, stairs, and boardwalks. While you may never build anything to this scale on your property, there are several concepts and ideas that you might consider. The following is a photo journal of the trails we walked in Cape Breton:

{The skyline trail, complete with moose droppings! Note the wood-covered culvert near the top of the photo and the trench dug along the side of the entire 3 km trail to aid drainage}

{an up close shot of the trench and small box culvert. These were placed every 20 metres or so along the trail. Notice also how the individual boards are placed diagonally to aid traction. The entire culvert is also on the diagonal}

{an explanation of how they built the boardwalk and platforms and the underlying land. Click on the photo for a larger view}

{the boardwalk built to protect the fragile growing environment of such a harsh climate}

{I couldn't resist showing you this plaque about stewardship ;)}



{Chris resting on a bench near the side of the worn path on the other side of the Skyline trail}

{an example of a culvert on a trail}

{cribbing and bridge along the river on this trail}

{these giant rocks made walking on this ocean-side trail particularly difficult!}

{the wood on this bridge is rough-sawed to aid with traction}

{a sign informing hikers about the ancient sensitive mosses of the area}

{a creatively designed staircase with rocks along the edges for support}

Below are two really great trail building resources I would like to recommend to you:

The Complete Guide to Trail Building and Maintenance, 4th Edition, 2008 by Appalachian Mountain Club Books

Ontario's Best Trails - Guidelines and Best Practices for the Design, Construction and Maintenance of Sustainable Trails for All Ontarians http://www.abilitiescentre.org/trails/

Also, be sure to check out the Muskoka Trails Council and get out and explore some of the amazing trails we have right here in Muskoka!

I would love to hear from you. What techniques have you used on your property in building your trails?