DIGBY, N.S. - A group of trail enthusiasts are looking for support to keep Digby-area trails clean.
Volunteers are wanted for the Rails to Trails clean-up being held on the rail-bed trail between Marshalltown and Bloomfield. The Dec. 3 activity is aimed at getting rid of garbage that has littered local pedestrian and ATV trails.
“It’s just to clean up the garbage that has been accumulating over the past few years and try to make the trail look a lot more appealing to people who would like to get out here and enjoy the trails,” said J.J. Scott, secretary of the Digby County ATV Club.
The ATV club helps to maintain the trails by clearing brush, debris, de-limbing trees and grading the surface. There’s approximately 50 kilometres of trails to enjoy, even during the winter if it doesn’t snow too much.
Scott said keeping the trails clean is important for local users and visitors coming in to enjoy the region.
“It’s always nice to have somebody that’s from away and come see your trails and say, ‘Gee, you have a nice trail system. It’s nice and clean and there’s no garbage’.”
Some of the garbage on the rail-bed trail includes rotten furniture, a baby stroller and other household items. Scott said it’s an easy task not to litter and to save regular debris for the garbage. He added that for larger items such as furniture, people simply need to go to the dump in Digby.
“All this stuff could go to the dump for free,” said Scott. “If you’re going to take it somewhere, take it to the dump instead of bringing it here and taking it to the woods.”
Scott said the ATV club, which is led by president Keith Comeau, has grown from a couple dozen members just a few years ago to about 80 today.
“We’ve had some changes in the club and we’ve had a lot of people join the club that wanted to join for the past few years and now that they see there’s stuff going on and that the club’s doing stuff, people want to be on an active club.”
The clean-up begins at 9 a.m. and finishes at 1 p.m. Volunteers are asked to meet at MacAlpine’s Kwik-Way at 8:45 a.m. or meet at the top of Jordantown Cross Road where a dumpster will be located for garbage collection.
“If they have an ATV, helmet and the bike’s legal and all that, then we want them to come and bring trailers,” said Jonathan Riley, Trails and Open Spaces Coordinator for Municipality of the District of Digby. “If they don’t have an ATV and have a pair of gloves, we need help dragging it up, help loading it in the trailers, we need help loading it in the dumpsters.
“If we can get people out here and they can see how beautiful it is and they can be a part of it and be engaged, maybe we can get more people using it.”
For a map of the trails or for more information, search digbytrails.ca/railbed.html or email: [email protected]
