Rideau Hill Camp is looking for community support to clean up the trails on their property. Camp volunteer, Barbarra Rousseau, says the camp has some beautiful hiking paths. However, due to the Emerald ash borer, many of the ash trees along the trails have died, allowing the buckthorn and other invasive species to take over. Stewardship of the forest is important to the camp, and restoring the canopy and cleaning up the trails is something that they are looking to take on this Fall. “The project is to bring the canopy back to where it should be,” Barbara says. “Maintaining our hiking trails is crucial.”
Unfortunately, this isn’t something that the hard-working camp volunteers can do on their own. They are seeking to hire someone who is licensed and qualified to do this restorative work, at an estimated cost of $30,000.
The camp is reaching out to the community to help fund the project. “We need the help of special friends of Rideau Hill Camp to steward the forest grounds for the future and to care for this small part of our world,” it says in a briefing.
Rideau Hill Camp has been around for 71 years and welcomes roughly 400 campers every Summer. It is run almost entirely by volunteers, who see the value in the experience that camp has to offer. They also have a campership program which budgets around $25,000 a year to help send kids to camp who could not otherwise afford the registration fee. “We feel everyone should get the opportunity to go to camp,” Barbara says.
Every little bit counts when it comes to donations supporting the restoration of Rideau Hill Camp’s forest and trails. The camp is a registered charity, so any donation over $20 will receive a tax receipt. Donations can be sent directly to: “Forest Restoration” RHC, c/o PO Box 1818 Kemptville, ON, K0G 1J0. For more information about the camp, visit their website at www.rideauhillcamp.com, or find them on Facebook under Rideau Hill Camp. Further inquiries can be directed to Ralph Taylor at ralph.taylor@sympatico.ca, or 613-258-2354.
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