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Wye Marsh boardwalk upgrades give visitors 'more access' to nature

Wye Marsh Wildlife Centre hopes to get funding to deal with emerald ash borer devestation; funding helped reopen Muskrat Trail, one of the only zones 'that connects the wetlands to the woodlands'

Area nature lovers and birders will be thrilled to learn the boardwalk trail system at the Wye Marsh Wildlife Centre has been upgraded.

Thanks to a $130,000 grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation, the local nature centre has been able to complete repairs to its Muskrat and ID Trail boardwalks.

Friends of Wye Marsh executive director Kim Hacker says the move follows a multi-year closure of the Muskrat Trail.

“It’s one of the only zones that connects the wetlands to the woodlands,” said Hacker, pointing out the move gives people an opportunity to see rare birds, otters — and who doesn’t love otters? — and other creatures in their natural habitat when hiking the trail.

“This gives our visitors more access. We have four boardwalks at Wye Marsh – Muskrat boardwalk is 180 feet, our main boardwalk is about 500 feet, the ID Trail boardwalk is 50 feet and the Suzanne McDonald boardwalk is about 60 feet.

Red’s Repairs and Renovations of Port Severn spent the last few weeks of 2022 building and installing the new boardwalks, which link different parts of the waterfront and marsh berm to forest trails.

“This opens up a significant part of the marsh” says longtime volunteer Dave Robertson.

From golden-crowned kinglets in the winter to colourful wood ducks in the summer, Hacker says the transition zone between forest and wetland is the perfect place to escape, explore and experience the  wonders of nature.

“We are excited to be continually improving visitor experiences, as well as our ability to conduct educational  programming and research at Wye Marsh,” Hacker says, noting boardwalks provide great access to areas people might not normally get to experience since they're also fully accessible for both wheelchairs and strollers.

"We firmly believe that people will change their own behaviour if they see these things (natural habitats). It sort of lets them see what the world can be."

Hacker says the Friends are now working to obtain other funding for more trail maintenance and hope to open the Suzanne MacDonald boardwalk this summer.

As well, they're hoping to obtain funding to combat damage caused by the invasive emerald ash borer, which has caused widespread devastation.

"It has decimated one third of the trees on the northern side of our property," Hacker says, adding they're working with the Huronia Community Foundation and the federal government's Environment Climate Change Canada to secure funds to clear dead trees.

"The emerald ash borers were going to town. We hope to clear what we can this spring and summer."

The Friends of Wye Marsh is a not-for-profit charitable organization taking care of 3,000 acres of  provincially significant wetlands and federal forests located at the mouth of the Wye River.

Hacker says that besides grants and admission fees, the centre relies on the goodwill of area residents through donations and symbolic adoptions of animals for about three percent of its annual budget, a figure she would like to see increase to 10 percent.

"It's really important to acknowledge that grants like these keep us going," she says, noting upgrades to the facility's display hall would also not have been possible without Trillium Foundation grants.

The National Wildlife Area is an internationally recognized Important Birding Area and is home to a vast array of species, including trumpeter swans.

The wildlife centre’s trails are open year-round. For more information, click here or call (705) 526-7809.


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Andrew Philips

About the Author: Andrew Philips

Editor Andrew Philips is a multiple award-winning journalist whose writing has appeared in some of the country’s most respected news outlets. Originally from Midland, Philips returned to the area from Québec City a decade ago.
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