Next time you’re out appreciating the trails of Wye Marsh, take a moment to appreciate the funding for infrastructure like what happened this past week.
On a cold January afternoon, members of the Wye Marsh Wildlife Centre were joined by representatives of the Ontario government to snowshoe on a one-kilometre round trip to the Muskrat boardwalk, built through $130,000 Ontario Trillium Foundation Capital funding.
Kim Hacker, executive director for the Wye Marsh, said during the opening ceremony, “We’re really grateful to the Ontario Trillium Capital Fund for the $130,000 that they gave us to repair this… and another boardwalk that’s in the other side of the property that we’re not going to drag you to today.”
“Sorry we can’t scrape it off to show you,” apologized Hacker. “It’s covered in ice, but we can carry on and walk over it.”
Laughter was had by attendees, as the chill temperature and extended bout of exercise kept all in good spirits but a little winded upon arrival to the roughly 35-metre bridge located at the south end of the trail system along the Muskrat Loop, where otters and other wildlife were seen playing earlier in the season.
Hacker told MidlandToday the funding was received in November of 2022. “The work was done in the winter/spring of 2023, and we were thrilled to see that the contractor – Reds Repairs and Renovations from Port Severn – had created a specialized metal plate built into the boardwalk that has both our logo and the name ‘Muskrat Trail’ engraved in it.”
In attendance was Simcoe North MPP Jill Dunlop, who donned snowshoes to take on the trek to see the government-funded bridge.
“I think the Wye Marsh is an incredible place and we’re so lucky to have it in Midland,” Dunlop told MidlandToday. “I know for most folks around here, myself included, we’ve grown up coming to the Wye Marsh and have continued to bring our families here over the years.
“It’s nice to see the work they’re doing here to educate young people; but they also run leadership and workshops for teams as well, so they do incredible work here and it’s all about teaching the next generation about the environment,” Dunlop added.
The Muskrat boardwalk was just one upgrade made to the not-for-profit Wye Marsh Wildlife Centre, as Hacker explained about an ambitious project in their near future.
“There’s another OTF grant opportunity opening in February, and we are going to be applying for $200,000 through the capital stream to make repairs to our ‘birds of prey’ building,” said Hacker. “ We’re going to be doing a big renovation: reducing the number of enclosures, increasing the size and personalization for the species.
“We’ve already started a low-key fundraising effort. People can donate through our website. We have children doing bake sales for us to raise money, to Indigenous organizations working to support because we support them in turn with the feathers from these birds. So there’s a tremendous amount of community involvement just starting,” she added.
The Friends of Wye Marsh is a not-for-profit charitable organization responsible for operating the Wye Marsh Wildlife Centre, located at 16160 Hwy. 12 E. in Midland, and taking care of 3,000 acres of provincially significant wetlands and federal forests located at the mouth of the Wye River.
Further information on the Wildlife Centre is available on the Wye Marsh website.