Students on Riding for Restoration trek
Three Peterborough environmental students are setting off Saturday on a 4,000-kilometre trek from Toronto to St. John’s, N.L. on Saturday as part of a fundraising cycle tour to raise money for a reforestation project in Thousand Islands National Park.
Nadine Hines, Phaedra Cowden and Selena Gilmour just wrapped up their second year in the Trent University and Fleming College ecological restoration program and will be joined on the journey by Stephanie Donison, a recent journalism grad from Sheridan College.
Riding for Restoration aims to fundraise for Hill Island, an old quarry site in the Thousand Islands portion of the St. Lawrence River.
The site was quarried for material during the building of Hwy. 401, Hines explained, but has never been restored back to its natural state.
“There has been little to no regeneration, partly because there is an overabundance of deer on the island. Anything that does start to grow, they just eat all of it,” Hines said.
The group wants to raise $25,000 to plant pitch pine trees and a fence to protect the seedlings from the deer population.
Apart from being environmentally conscious students, the group was inspired to act after learning of government cutbacks to Parks Canada restoration budgets, Hines said.
They hope to garner attention to the issue through the bike trip.
“We’re using a sustainable way of travelling to help build a more sustainable future,” she said.
They expect to be arriving in Newfoundland in mid-August.
NOTES: The group aims to attract at least one Twitter follower for every kilometre cycled and can be followed at @restorationride…. Donations can be made online at: www.gofundme.com/21sudk…. Donations over $100 can be sent to the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society to receive a tax receipt, either by mail or online at www.cpaws.org. Put a note with your donation saying that it is for Riding for Restoration.