Newsletter fall 2006

Fall Colours and Plenty of Acorns at Heartland

Mid to late October is the time when Heartland Forest shows her true colours. Heartland is home to 18 different kinds of trees, each with its own colour palate. From the brilliant yellows and reds of sugar maples to the deep burgundy of beech and soft browns of oaks, you’ll find a myriad of autumn colours during your walk through Heartland's 96 acres. And, beware of falling acorns. There are many oak trees, especially near the deck on the shorter trail, and you’ll hear their acorns crack to the ground during your walk. We can mentally picture squirrels taking revenge on us from above but it is more likely Mother Nature simply spreading seeds for another crop of baby oaks.

New hours for Heartland

Beginning mid-July, 2006, Heartland is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. These new hours were put in place to bring more visitors into Heartland and mean that anyone can visit us during the day without wondering if it will be open or not. To date these new hours have not proven to be a hardship to anyone but it is hoped, that in the future, volunteers will be found to take the opening and closing duties from Dan. The classroom is being left open for visitors to peruse.

School Children to visit

We have been encouraged that the District School Board of Niagara and Niagara District Separate School Board have both expressed a desire to meet with Paul Philp and find out how they can further explore bringing children out to Heartland for educational purposes. Wheatley School has already confirmed for October, the Niagara Peninsula Children’s Centre is also asking about bringing their Senior Scout Troop out and several other schools have also booked day trips.

Donations of labour and items to Heartland continue

Andy and Chris Collee of Collee Wrecking and Recycling Inc. donated and set-up a 24'x26' enclosed event tent to Heartland over the summer. This allows us to hold events that, if threatened by rain, can be continued in the tent. Speedpro Imaging in St. Catharines donated some of our smaller signs and we're using them for our large signs located at learning stations in the forest. Dimensions Flooring, also in St. Catharines, donated 75 carpet samples to allow school children to comfortably sit on the floor. Shamus Burton did odd jobs, painting, waterproofing, learning station build-outs and work on the bridge. Gary Taylor and Dean Baker made what we endearingly call our Flintstone Benches. We trust Gary's hand is mending after his mishap with the axe. Ron Douglas and Chris Strohbach spend many an hour trail building. Shawn Metlin has been doing carpentry around the site and making our washrooms accessible. It's Shawn that's doing the new family-style washroom area. Paul Kerr donated the new large accessible washroom building and Carl Vanderkuip and John Veeneman put in many hours making sure our electrical generator works and our classroom has lights. A heartfelt thanks to all of these terrific people who gave of their time, talent and products to make Heartland the wonderful place it is becoming. And, last but definitely not least, Doug Large, our webmaster, has done a tremendous job on this, our spanking new website.

Pumpkinfest plans finalized, visitation increasing steadily

Pumpkinfest, Heartland’s annual collaboration with the Tender Wishes Foundation is all set for Saturday, October 28^th. Cogeco has promised to visit that day to record the festivities and take a walk through the woods to report on the progress being made. Participants must be registered with Tender Wishes in advance.
The Stevensville Girl Guides, 29 guides and five leaders, visited Heartland Sept. 19. for a nature tour and BBQ. Everyone, including the leaders, reported a great time and said they learned something new. That says a lot for teacher Paul.
The Welland River Keepers joined by Friends of Fort Erie Creeks will hold a meeting at Heartland, Oct. 14 and Ontario Nature will be on site Oct. 21. Big Brothers and Big Sisters will visit Oct. 29 after Tender Wishes holds its Halloween event the day before.

New Co-ordinator and PR, Promotion Personnel

Paul Philp, a retired school teacher is the new co-ordinator for Heartland Nature Experience, and Linda Crabtree, a local advocate for people with disabilities, newspaper columnist and consultant on Universal Design (UD), is handling public relations, press and promotion for Heartland Forest. Paul has developed curriculum that will teach children about the forest and everything in it. Linda is well-versed in Universal Design and everything planned for Heartland involving the public goes through her to make sure it incorporates the concept of Universal Design to enable people who are disabled to enjoy Heartland just as much as anyone else. Linda is also working to get the word about Heartland out to the public via the local press. Both Paul and Linda are passionate about Heartland and work together well.

New trail in the works

Trails at Heartland are designed in loops that connect with each other allowing people who tire or would just like a peek at the forest rather than an adventure to get back to the entrance more quickly. However, there are those who want to spend as much time as possible in the forest and for them, Heartland will eventually have 2.5 km of wide, wheelchair accessible trail. Dan Bouwman, founder of Heartland Forest, is the main trail breaker for the site. With 1.5 km of finished trail already under his belt, Dan is now concentrating on the next 1 km loop. With the new job half finished and a bridge built over a large vernal pool, Dan continues to work to complete the entire trail.

Trees for Three’s

Paul Philp, our education coordinator, has developed a program called Trees for Three’s that focuses on the trees and their leaves, bark and seeds at Heartland and is aimed at children in Grade 3, although it can be varied for any grade. Trees for Three’s takes the children into the forest to look at and discuss the trees, to learn how bark identifies a tree even when the leaves are down, point out the varying types of leaves and collect a few to be used for leaf rubbings back in the classroom. Nuts and seeds are also discussed. Each child is also encouraged to begin a personal leaf collection using a booklet designed with the help of Mr. Philp. Teachers go away from their time at Heartland with an 80-page curriculum guide that will help them lead their student into further discussions about Heartland.

Variety of fungi found at Heartland

During a recent September weekend, after a day-long rain, visitors to Heartland could see more than 15 different types of fungi in the leaf mould and on the stumps and rotting wood lying around the forest floor. Although Heartland is a managed forest, deadwood and piles of logs are left lying where they fall to encourage small animals, reptiles and amphibians to make Heartland their home. This rotting wood is also the terrific place for fungi to grow. While we haven’t identified most of the fungi yet, we are working on a pamphlet for the public using some of the excellent photographs taken that weekend by everyone who witnessed this charming display of design and colour.

Addition to toileting facilities on site

A building has been donated that will house a family-style toilet to be used by people who need room for scooters and large wheelchairs as well as help in the washroom. There will be a large sliding door at the entrance and a child-sized change station inside on one wall. The toilet area will have plenty of room for transferring and there will be double grab bars that flip down from the wall behind the toilet. Two other toilet areas on the site already accommodate people who can stand and those with smaller mobility devices.