Wildlife walkers in Sharbot Lake

Apr 28, 2011

On April 15, 17 walkers from Sharbot Lake and the surrounding area met at the Sharbot Lake caboose to take part in the first ever official Sharbot Lake walk for The Canadian Wildlife Federation's Walk for Wild Life campaign. Recognizing this year as the International Year of Forests, the walks are aimed at raising awareness about sustainable forest management and habitat conservation in Canada and participants are encouraged to take note of any wild life sightings that they see. The Sharbot Lake walk was one of five walks that took place in Ontario that week; the others were in Bath, Kanata, Niagara-on-the-Lake, and Bar Haven. The group walked from Sharbot Lake to Maberly, a journey of 17 kilometres, which took them roughly four hours. Between them they tallied up a total of 234 km., which will be added to the national total. The day started off chilly but the walkers, quickly warmed up under a bright, sunny sky.

Organizer Gloria Opzoomer of Balderson, who is a member of the Canadian Wildlife Federation, planned the walk this year and was pleased with the turnout. “The walk not only encourages Canadians to get out and walk but also to be aware of biodiversity and our standing forests, which hopefully will continue to stand for many years to come.” She reported that along the way the group identified 13 species of birds and three frog species, including a wood frog, which many had never heard of before. They also saw the tallest pussy willow shrub that most of them had ever seen.

The campaign runs until May 22 and those still interested in participating can sign up as a group or individually. They are encouraged to tally up their kilometres and add them to the website’s total at nationalwildlifeweek.com

The group enjoyed the walk so much that they are planning a second walk in the fall.