INTERNATIONAL TRAILS DAY 2016 – Saturday June 4th
Every year, we celebrate International Trails Day to recognize the important contribution that trails make to the fabric of communities around the world.
This year, our local International Trails Day theme is “Snapshot” and it is all about documentation.
Our goal to take this day to document and measure our trail system. Trail usage is skyrocketing and interest is growing. We want to prove it and show it. We want to know how it is being used and be able to share all the wonderful things that you can do while you are out there – all year round.
Want to help? There are all kinds of ways in which you can participate:
1. Get Out There and Have Fun
These simplest way to participate is to go outside!!! Just be one of the hundreds of thousands of Winnipeggers that use our trail network. That’s good enough for us. 🙂 Go outside on June 4th. Enjoying a trail system that is growing every day is important. Go alone or call someone up and go outside and explore together.
2. Be a Star? Help us Make a Movie with Winnipeg’s Best Trails Vistas!
CASTING CALL: Couples who like to ride bikes. We will be out on Saturday afternoon, teaming up with videographers to document footage of trails that are in use all around the city. We can use it in all kinds of ways If you’re lucky, you may appear in a (very very brief, but still) scene in a short video being shot for our partners at Bike Week Winnipeg!!
If you are interested in appearing and available in the afternoon, please email [email protected] with “Bike Couple” as the subject line. Tell us about a nice scenic/busy spot near you where you might like to film. We’ll try and arrange to meet you there. We want all ages and demographics. The more the better. Let us know and we will do our best to include you!
3. Capture Some Animals?
…with a camera, of course. Save Our Seine has organized a sweet Nature Photo Hunt. Camera buffs are requested to group up and test their skills (and luck) to show us all the creatures that can be find in the wild places that trails let us access – even right here in the city! See all the details here.
4. Spend an hour on your phone and watch others move? Help us count trail traffic.
Bring your phone and let’s do some citizen science, shall we? Volunteers and staff with iPhones will be outside on June 4th for the first of a whole series of traffic counting exercises meant to get some facts on what we see as crazy numbers of people on trails. We’ll be counting everything from little ones on a scooter to groups of middle-aged weekend warriors on their way to Bird’s Hill on their bikes. We’ll be using Green Action Centre’s made-in-Manitoba app, CounterPoint. To participate, all you have to do is download the app at CounterPointApp.org. Once you are ready, join one of many counterpoints around the city or set up one of your own on a trail near you. Count what goes by, share your results. We recommend anything from a 15 minute to a 2 hour count between 1pm and 3pm.
5. Come for a Run with the FCM
June 4th is also National Health and Fitness Day and it just so happens that councillors from around Canada are in Winnipeg for a big conference. We are partnering with NHFD to promote this event. You are welcome to join us bright and early and come for a run/walk/job/bike along a route that features soe downtown Winnipeg’s best trails and views. See the details here.
6. Transcona Trails Photo Contest
Starting on June 4th, Transcona Trails is accepting submissions of cool photos for a new contest. And you can win cash!! See all the details here.
7. New Trans Canada Trail Trailheads Unveiling 10am and Noon
Join us at 10:00am in King’s Park and and at 12:00noon in St.Norbert at the Farmer’s market to cut some ribbons on the latest amenities to be added to the Trans Canada Trail. See details here.
8. Find gems – share gems with our new app. For the last 14 months we have been testing and refining a scavenger hunt-style Winnipeg Trails app and we think it’s pretty cool. We have added a bunch of new gems and are looking for more! If you are already familiar with the app, we challenge you to suggest new gems. We know there are hundreds more out there that deserve to be shared. Tell us where they are! The world needs to know!
9. Beefs and Bouquets? How is our trail network doing? What do you see out there? What’s awful? What’s great? What can we do better? Join a conversation. Tag us @winnipegtrails on Twitter or post to our page on Facebook with pics or comments on the quality of our trails network. Be gushing, be grumpy. Up to you. We want to hear it. Remember that if you see something dangerous or that you want to see fixed, it’s always a good idea to let 311 or your councillor know, depending on what kind of issue it is. If you love something, it is important to share that too!
Check back for more activities planned by Winnipeg Trails and its Partners in the lead up to the event.
