Adopt a metre with trail fundraiser

Using a Facebook campaign and GPS co-ordinates for a mini scavenger hunt, the Essex Region Conservation Foundation is raising money to complete the 22-kilometre Amherstburg to Essex trail.

The foundation launched its Trail On! campaign Wednesday and is asking people to symbolically adopt a metre of trail.

For $50, donors will get a green shirt with the new Trail On! logo and the GPS co-ordinates of their spot on a trail and they will be encouraged to take a picture of themselves and post it on the foundation’s Facebook page. Because only 5.5 km of the Essex-Amherstburg Greenway is completed, donors will use their GPS co-ordinates to find a spot on the existing Chrysler Canada Greenway which runs from Oldcastle to Ruthven.

Essex Coun. John Scott, who serves on the Essex Region Conservation Authority and is a cyclist, said he’s hoping the campaign goes viral.

“This is something anyone can do. A family can get out there, do a cheesy little video and upload it, and I think that would be fun,” Scott said Wednesday.

Scott thinks of the campaign as “get your trail on” much like the expression “get your game on.”

Foundation communications specialist Suzanne Tompkins said the interactive side on getting donations is fun.

“People can go out and use their GPS and find it. It’s a bit of a scavenger hunt to go with your family and find your point, take your picture and appreciate the trails we have in our region today.”

It is estimated to cost $750,000 to develop the remaining 15.5 km of the trail. Tomkins said a few kilometres of the trail could be built after about $100,000 is raised. The campaign will run two years.

The trail would start north of the urban area of Amherstburg and run on a diagonal parallel to County Road 12 to Sadler’s Pond in Essex. It crosses the Chrysler Canada Greenway east of County Road 11 and a section from McGregor to County Road 15 is complete and being used.

Caesars Windsor donated $25,000 in June to get the campaign started. The recent Canada South Coast Bike Tour raised about $8,000.

To adopt a metre visit www.our green legacy.org.