Sandi Slater Memorial Trail -
Phase 2
By Julie Druker
A ceremony was held at the new bridge in Meisel Woods
There was a special, intimate,
emotional gathering and ribbon cutting ceremony that took place in a
beautiful but unusual location last Saturday. It happened in the
woods surrounding Bass Lake (a.k.a. Beaver Lake) in the middle of a
bridge.
The gathering was for the dedication of
Phase 2 of the Sandi Slater Memorial Trail in the Meisel Woods
Conservation Area, located near the village of Crow Lake.
The cutting of the ribbon at the middle
of the newly constructed bridge symbolized the important step of
connecting the first section of the trail to the western section that
lies beyond the bridge across Scott’s Creek.
Sandi Slater and her husband Joe
frequently walked these trails before Sandi’s sudden passing in May
2003.
After Sandi’s death, Joe and their
family decided to celebrate her life and memory by constructing a
nature trail in her honour.
Joe made two important phone calls,
which he remembers,” took a total of five minutes to make”. The
first was to family friend and neighbour, Dr. John Meisel, who in
September of 2000 donated 120 acres of the land surrounding his home
and Bass Lake to the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority (RVCA). The
land has since been named in Meisel’s honour and the memorial trail
is located on it. Meisel was on board with the project immediately.
Joe's second call went out to the Rideau Valley Conservation
Authority (RVCA), who agreed to the project as well.
In May of 2003, the Sandi Slater
Memorial Fund was set up in conjunction with the Rideau Valley
Conservation Foundation and funds were raised that allowed Phase 1 of
the project to be completed. The first phase included the building of
the parking lot and entrance way to the trail, the purchase of the 40
foot steel beams for the bridge, and the initial breaking of the
trail.
Funds for phase 2 were generated by the
Greater Kingston Community Foundation and the Davies Foundation to
complete the construction of the main bridge, which occurred last
fall.
The bridge design, prepared and donated
by Graydon Knights, a close friend of the Slater family and a civil
engineer by profession, spans more than 40 feet and easily carried
the weight of the over 30 people gathered on it for the dedication
ceremony.
Joe Slater, his family and a group of
close friends and volunteers from the community have done much of the
work for the bridge building and the cutting and maintaining of the
trails.
Joe and Sandi’s son Jeff has put in
countless hours of work into the trail. He also enlisted the help of
25 students of the University of Waterloo swim team, whom he coaches
and who spend part of the summer training at Crow Lake. This fit work
crew transported the many tonnes of stones that fill the bridge’s
two cribs.
The trail is a stunning, 5km walk
through forest, rocks, over streams and hills and boasts a number of
lookouts, and benches that offer gorgeous views of Bass Lake and the
surrounding area.
Phase 3 will be the last and final step
in the project. It will involve the construction of a boardwalk at
the north end of the lake to complete the loop of the trail where it
passes through 200-300 meters of wetlands.
At 11:30 am on October 18, the Slater
family, including Sheryl Slater (Joe and Sandi’s daughter from
London, England), along with close friends, members of the community,
and representatives of contributing organizations, all gathered on
the main bridge for the dedication ceremony.
Dr. John Meisel said that Joe Slater
has been the driving force behind the project. Meisel concluded by
stating that, “Canada is so fantastically rich in beautiful
countryside and we must do everything to protect it, preserve it and
make it available to people. This kind of enjoyment of what we’ve
got can only happen when different kinds of people from the community
get involved.”
Joe Slater was introduced by John
Miller as the “quarter back for virtually all of the development of
the bridge and the trail from labour needs, seeking funding and the
trail lay out and construction. No job was too big or too small for
Joe to tackle.”
Joe spoke last. He reminisced about the
project and thanked all involved along the way.
Jeff Slater later summed up the project
when he said, “It’s really a relatively tight group of friends
and family who have been able to do this and it’s a real labour of
love that we enjoy.” And thanks to the Slater family, Dr. John
Meisel, their friends and all of the community associations involved
we are all able to enjoy it as well.
Donations can be made to complete phase
3 of the project by making out a cheque to the Sandi Slater Memorial
Trail, Charitable Business # 1191 9501 RR0001 and sending it to The
Rideau Valley Conservation Foundation, Box 988, Manotick, ON, K4M
1A8.
For anyone wanting to explore the
trail, the trail head is located at 1392 Anderson Road North near the
the village of Crow Lake.
