Pinery Fall Classic supports access, education and conservation
By Dan Rolph
Hundreds of runners and walkers will return to Pinery Provincial Park on Oct. 18 for the annual Pinery Fall Classic Run and Walk, a major fundraiser supporting research, education and conservation initiatives in the park.
Organized by The Friends of Pinery Park, the event is marking its 18th year at the park. Each year, the run and walk usually attracts around 400 participants, featuring a two-kilometre run and walk, a 4.8-kilometre trail run, and five- and 10-kilometre runs.
“It’s a very popular event,” said The Friends of Pinery Park executive director Kevin Williams. “People return year after year, and we start getting calls in May with, ‘can I register yet?’”
Each year, the Pinery Fall Classic serves as a major fundraiser for The Friends of Pinery Park, supporting the organization’s efforts to improve the park the experience of parkgoers through accessibility improvements, education, preservation and more.
The Friends of Pinery Park was established in 1989 and was the second-ever Friends organization in the province. Today, there are 24 Friends organizations supporting parks throughout Ontario.
Since its creation, The Friends of Pinery Park has supported stewardship of the park through community science projects, such as making bat detectors accessible and promoting photo monitoring in areas considered ecologically significant, allowing parkgoers to use their mobile devices to take photos that are used by ecologists to monitor environmental changes.
The organization has also worked to ensure that Pinery remains accessible to as many people as possible through the availability of all-terrain wheelchairs, which can be reserved for free.
“Over the past decade, we have been trying to improve visitors’ experiences with mobility devices that allow them to get off road onto the trails as well as onto the beach,” said Williams. “(Pinery) is getting lots of emails back saying this is just the greatest thing. It’s really worked out well.”
Some of The Friends of Pinery Park’s initiatives, such as its recycling committee, help both to both protect the environment and fundraise for the organization. Volunteers collect and sort through recyclables to both reduce waste and fundraise through returning refundable bottles and cans.
The organization is also responsible for The Friends of Pinery Park Nature Store. The store offers souvenirs, clothing, books and more, and has long been a popular offering at the provincial park.
“We have people that come in November, and they do their Christmas shopping in the store,” said The Friends of Pinery Park board chair Cathy Forster. “Their kids might be getting a sweatshirt, or a new hoodie.”
With many initiatives under its purview, Friends of Pinery Park is looking ahead to a new project that will expand the park’s outreach.
“Our new initiative is to work with the park in developing a ‘discovery on the go’ mobile unit,” said Williams. “The park naturalists will be able to take it to sites outside of the visitor centre within the park, so other areas in the park, as well as when they do a number of school visits and attend special events throughout the county.”
Williams said the mobile unit would make travel and setup easier for the park’s outreach staff, and the organization has considered implementing the idea for years.
“We’re happy that we are now moving forward with that project,” he said.
As Friends of Pinery Park moves ahead with the proposed mobile unit, support from the upcoming Pinery Fall Classic will help the organization continue expanding access to the park’s natural and educational experiences.
Registration for the Pinery Fall Classic is available through raceroster.com.
For more information about The Friends of Pinery Park, visit pinerypark.on.ca.
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