Welcome to
The Trail Research Hub Digest |
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The Trail Research Hub signs MOU with the Canadian Trails Federation Research Update: Trails and Social Enterprise Project A Look Inside: Being a Research Assistant with the Hub
Research Update: Grand Watershed Trail-Based Recreation and Tourism Project Trail Research Hub Partners to co-deliver National Roundtable on Risk Management Public Consultation: The Hub Joins National Roundtable on Rural Tourism in support of the new Federal Tourism Growth Strategy
Trail Research Hub Blog: Sharing Insights Between Newsletters |
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PARTNERSHIP ANNOUNCEMENT
The Trail Research Hub signs MOU with
the Canadian Trails Federation |
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On April 14, 2022, the Canadian Trails Federation (CTF) and the Trail Research Hub (The Hub) officially entered into a partnership through the development of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The overarching goal of the MOU and agreement is to bring together leaders in trail development and to leverage the Hub's partnerships with educational institutions to grow trail-based research and evidence-based practice in support of the professionalization of the Canadian trails sector. This is a first for both organizations. While the Trails Research Hub has established partnerships with provincial and local trail organizations, like the Ontario Trails Council, the Bruce Trails Conservancy, the HydroCut, the Grand Watershed Trails Network, and the Blacksheep Mountain Biking Club, establishing a relationship with a national organization will create a greater variety of opportunities for The Hub. |
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“Too often we see a blanket approach to addressing common issues in the trail industry, however, we know that this approach doesn't reflect unique community-based needs. Challenges that may appear to be similar in nature can vary vastly from the North to the South and in Urban, Rural and Peri-urban areas - understanding the regional nature of some of these challenges will allow for more diverse and customized approaches and solutions. With access to the opportunity to engage with trail organizations from across the country, we hope to better be able to tap into and support what makes the Canadian trail industry truly unique.” Kelsey Johansen, PhD
Chair, The Trail Research Hub |
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Access to the network of local, regional, provincial/territorial, and national trail organizations represented through the membership of the CTF, will provide The Hub with a better understanding of the diverse array of experiences and challenges facing the Canadian trails sector and leading to opportunities for potential university-community partnered research projects, outreach and educational opportunities, and collaborative engagement. This will help strengthen the trail industry across the country. Additional benefits may also include: - Increased opportunities to connect to existing and new members;
- Maximizing the potential of trail research in Canada through each other’s networks;
- Offsetting the burden to CTF Board volunteers by having access to students from affiliated universities thus helping to cultivate the next generation of trail stewards;
- Access to large-scale academic research projects; and
- Access to funding and grants that achieve mutually beneficial strategic objectives.
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“We have already seen how this partnership can benefit the trail industry across Canada through the success of the 2022 Virtual National Roundtable on Risk Management and Trails” Jamie Warren
Vice President
Canadian Trails Federation |
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The Roundtable brought together trail practitioners from across the country, with significant representation from many provinces and territories and diverse organizations involve in trail development, delivery, and programming. This included participants ranging from volunteer trail managers, municipalities, national trail organizations, and consultants - you can read more in our follow article below. Creating connections with a broader range of trail practitioners will only help strengthen the industry as a whole, and is a key objective of this MOU. Stay tuned as we launch our next significant collaborative endeavour, focused on education and celebrating best practices from across the country, in the Fall of 2022. |
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RESEARCH UPDATE Trails and Social Enterprise Project |
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Since the publication of our last bi-annual newsletter, the Trail Research Hub has continued to make headway on our Trails and Social Enterprise Research Project. The goal of the Trails and Social Enterprise Project is to improve the resiliency, adaptability, and capacity of, and good governance among, stakeholder trail organizations within the Canadian trails industry and associated sectors while contributing to the long-term viability of the trails industry in Canada. Completed: Phases One and Two In October 2021, we completed our Phase One Literature Review and Environmental Scan. Throughout the Fall of 2021 and Winter of 2022 we completed Phase Two (of seven); this phase included designing our research methods, and focus group questions, and culminated with the approval of our Ethics Application in January 2022. With the first two phases completed, we are currently completing Phase Three of the project. In Progress: Phase Three With the approval of our Ethics Application through the University of Waterloo, we have started a series of data collection Focus Group sessions with trail organizations in Ontario and the Maritimes. With a number of the themes focusing on governance models for trail organizations, we are exploring the principles of collective impact and social enterprise, while fostering meaningful opportunities for engagement with local, regional and national stakeholders and indigenous communities in planning for sustainable trail development, maintenance, and management. If you are interested in participating in our focus groups, please email us. To be included in the study, you must: - Represent a trail organization that advocate for or operate, manage, or steward trail;
- Your role within the organization can be as a member of the Executive, senior staff members, Board Members, designated organizational representatives, and / or long-term volunteers; and
- Be located in either Ontario or Atlantic Canada.
It is clear from the early trail organization Focus Group we have held so far that there is a wealth of information among trail organizations, as well as considerable diversity amongst trail uses, organization types, and focuses. It has reinforced for us that no one trail organization is the same and there are many different ways trails are being delivered as a recreation and tourism product within and across Canada. Despite these differences, there are many commonalities including a shared vision of encouraging responsible use and sustainable development of trails.
As the Trails and Social Enterprise project was the spark that led to the creation of the Trail Research Hub, we are very interested to see what themes continue to emerge from the community form data collection and from our focus groups. As we all have many years of experience working with diverse trail organizations across Canada, we are interested to see if the data collected validates the use of collective impact and social enterprise approaches to address issues that we know are constraints to trail development in Canada.
Next Steps: Phase Four and Beyond The next few months will be busy for the project as we reach the half way mark. Once our data collection phase is complete, we will be analyzing the data, reporting back to and engaging with our participants, then we will be releasing an interim report, likely by year end. In the meantime, we look forward to presenting some of our early findings at ICSTM 2022 - the 6th International Conference on Sustainable Tourism Management, happening August 24th to 26th, 2022 in Stockholm, Sweden and at the 2022 World Trails Conference happening September 26t to 30th in Skiathos, Greece. Funding Acknowledgements The Trails and Social Enterprise Research Project has been generously supported in the past by the Government of Canada’s Student Work Placement Program (SWPP), a Hallman Undergraduate Research Fellowship from the University of Waterloo's Faculty of Health, and the Ontario Trails Council. |
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AN INSIDE LOOK
Being a Research Assistant with the Hub |
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During my first Co-op term with the Trail Research Hub in Winter 2021, I working on a Literature Review exploring the Canadian trail industry, trail governance structures, and explaining how social enterprise and collective impact models have been used in tourism and recreation which helped me to strengthen my research writing skills. These skills are transferrable to my studies and have improved my use of databases, and reading scholarly articles, related to coursework and assignments. I also fostered connections with other trail organizations by attending the Ontario Trails Council's Trail Tourism working group meetings. During my Winter 2022 Co-Op term with the Trail Research Hub, I was able to build off of my prior work and work completed by another Research Assistant during their Summer 2021 placement. This allowed me to see how research projects evolve, as we used this foundation to complete the Research Ethics application and design focus group questions for trails organizations in Ontario and Atlantic Canada. I also continued to build my research writing skills by contributing to a Research Note, being submitted to an academic journal, and which explores Social Enterprise, Collective Impact models, and Trails including how to build resilient and adaptive governance structures within and across the trail industry. I also supported the National Roundtable on Risk Management, a 2-day virtual event. Prior to the event, I attending planning meetings and learned about virtual event hosting and planning logistics. During the event, I led a breakout discussion with trail organizations and be able to hear first handed about trail projects happening around Canada. I enjoyed the opportunity to meet lawyers, professionals from the insurance sector, trail professionals and to learn more about some of the risk management challenges they are facing as well as learning about possible solutions. |
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During my Winter 2022 Co-op term, I was also given the opportunity to work with the Ontario Trails Council as the Communication and Marketing Intern. In this part of my role, I worked with their Marketing and Communications Committee to update the membership database, and made connections to many trail organizations in Ontario. I also completed a website audit, and provided recommendations for how to enhance the website's SEO, aesthetic, and user experience. I was able to re-join the Ontario Trails Council's Trail Tourism working group, and see how each organization had progressed over the last year, including new trails built, funding secured and projects completed. In my spare time I enjoy being outside backpacking, camping, hiking, and kayaking with my dog. I have always had a strong interest in the outdoors and use the time to reflect and thoroughly take in my surroundings. For me, being outside provides a sense of comfort and relaxation. In the future I hope to secure a full-time position in environmental law / enforcement where I can be surrounded by nature. I have had the opportunity to work for Ontario Parks for the last five summers and was recently been promoted to Park Warden. Working for a large organization that focuses on outdoor experiences, environmental sustainability, and education has also shaped my career goals. I would like to say a huge thank you to the Trail Research Hub for helping to guide me and provide assistance in my learning during the past two terms. I am grateful for their continued support during and between terms and for supporting my experiential learning and development as a researcher throughout my work terms. |
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RESEARCH UPDATE Grand Watershed Trail-Based Recreation
and Tourism Project |
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The Grand Watershed Trail Network Research Project is a joint collaboration between researchers affiliated with the Trail Research Hub and the University of Waterloo's Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies, as well as community partners, including the Grand Watershed Trail Network, Regional Tourism Organizations (RTO 1, RTO 3, and RTO 4), and Six Nations Tourism. Researchers: Kelsey Johansen (University of Waterloo / Trail Research Hub) Dr. Karla Boluk (University of Waterloo)
Community Partners: Anne Crowe (GWTN), President of the Grand Watershed Trails Network.
Industry Liaisons: Joanne Wolnik (RTO 1 - Southwest Ontario Tourism Corporation), Maria Fortunat (RTO 3 - Hamilton Halton Brant Regional Tourism Association), Andrea Gardi and Tristan Vogel (RTO 4), and Spring Sault (Six Nations Tourism). Launched in Spring 2021, the purpose of Phase I of this study is to gauge regional businesses awareness of the Grand Watershed Trails Network and Ontario By Bike™ – Bike Friendly Business criteria, and the importance they place on trail-based recreation and tourism, including but not limited to cycling, hiking, and paddling. The results of this study are begin presented to community stakeholders, including the members of the Board of the Grand Watershed Trail Network, and representatives from Southwest Ontario Tourism Corporation (RTO 1), Hamilton Halton Brant Regional Tourism Association (RTO 3), RTO 4, and Six Nations Tourism at the end of July, along with a report detailing the findings and recommendations. |
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From there, the recommendations will be used to inform the development, marketing, promotion and planning of the Grand Watershed Trails Network, while fostering meaningful opportunities for engagement with local stakeholders and indigenous communities in planning for, and benefiting from, the economic growth resulting from increasing visitation levels associated with the Grand River Watershed's trail-based recreation and tourism offerings. |
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Next Steps: Phase Two and Forward
From here, we plan to use the findings to build subsequent phases of the research which will provide further direction and support for building the trail network. |
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Starting in Fall 2022, Phase Two will include hosting a series of focus groups and community workshops (based on participant/community interest). We plan to present the key findings of the survey at these workshops and to engage indigenous and non-indigenous stakeholders in community workshops aimed at increasing local entrepreneurial capacity related to trail-based recreation and tourism. From there, Phase Three will involve a student-led, researcher supported, project during the Winter 2023 semester in which students from the University of Waterloo's Department of Recreation and Leisure studies undertake a project exploring the user experience of the Grand Watershed Trails Network and to determine market readiness of the Network. Phase Four would further engage indigenous and non-indigenous stakeholders in community workshops aimed at building local partnerships for further trail-based recreation and tourism secondary product development in identified gap regions / services, and on packaging and promotion.
A Phase I findings report will be made publicly available after it is presented to the project's community stakeholders and subject to approval by the Grand Watershed Trails Network Board. |
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Funding for Phase I of this project, including the salaries of student research assistants, was provided partially by a grant received by the Grand River Trails Network from the Project Learning Tree Youth Employment Program which offered a 50% wage subsidy to eligible groups who are looking to hire a young employee (aged 15 to 30). |
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OUTREACH UPDATE Trail Research Hub partnered to co-deliver the National Roundtable on Risk Management in February 2022 |
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In February 2022, the Ontario Trails Council co-hosting a virtual National Roundtable on Risk Management with sponsorship from Intact Insurance and support from the Canadian Trails Federation. The Trail Research Hub facilitated the Roundtable logistics, including moderating the Panels, running the Q and A Sessions, and facilitating breakout rooms. This highly successful two-day event brought together Panelists from academia, the trails and insurance industries and the law, to discuss key trends and emerging issues related to risk management and trails across Canada. Day 1 focused on insurance and legal liability in trails and active transportation. On Day 1, Kelsey Johansen, Chair of the Trail Research Hub and a Lecturer is the Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies (University of Waterloo), delivered a session summarizing the findings of the recent Insuring Ontario's Trails Survey conducted in partnership with the Ontario Trails Council. This was followed by presentations from Ryan Morasiewicz, JD an Outdoor/Adventure and Insurance Defense Barrister practising with Sound Law LLP and a Ground Search Team Leader with North Shore Rescue on risk management and waivers, and Dave Shellnutt, JD founder of the Biking Lawyer LLP and the Toronto Bike Brigade on municipal trail liability, including what to do if you're involved in a crash and how to advocate for yourself and your trail. Following an engaging Q and A session, and breakout discussions, Day 1 ended with presentations from Patrick Connor, Executive Director of Ontario Trails and Sandra Riches, Executive Director of BC Adventuresmart on additional training and education opportunities and future directions in education, and professional development at the local and national level. Day 2 focused on best practices for accessing and managing risk on trails. On Day 2, Brian Anderson, Chair of the Ontario Trails Council's Risk Management Committee, and Road Specialist with Intact Public Entities, presented on risk management at road and trail intersections, including the importance of signage and trail classifications. This was followed by presentations from Tracy Eso, Risk Assessment and Solutions Manager, also with Intact Public Entities, on partnerships in trail maintenance, including contractual risk transfer to user groups, and by Mark Wood, a trail consultant with Trail Holistics, on risk management on recreational trails. If you are interested in accessing the recordings of the Roundtable Sessions, please visit The National Roundtable of Risk Management Archive, and email Patrick Connor, Executive Director, Ontario Trails Council at execdir@ontariotrails.ca for the access code. |
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PUBLIC CONSULATION
Sharing Insights between NewslettersPublic Consultation: The Hub Joins National Roundtable on Rural Tourism in support of the new Federal Tourism Growth Strategy |
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On June 23rd, 2022, our Chair Kelsey Johansen, attended the Rural Tourism Roundtable Discussion being hosted by the Honourable Randy Boissonnault, Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance, in support of developing Canada's new Federal Tourism Growth Strategy. |
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It was great to see such strong representation from the trails sector on the call, including our colleague Jane (Murphy) McCulloch who serves as the President of the Canadian Trails Federation in addition to her roles as a Community Liaison for Atlantic Canada with the Trail Research Hub and as the Principal of Terminus Consulting. Discussions focused on future proofing existing tourism assets and tourism organizations, including tourism operators, SMEs and NGOs while seeking to understand the barriers they face as we emerge from the COVID-19 Pandemic. Attendees spoke to challenges they or their constituents face, including community integration within tourism planning, lack of funding / capital for entrepreneurs, loss of highly qualified personnel due to seeking employment in other sectors during pandemic, a need for training and education programs that target the next generation of tourism leaders, and the importance of focusing on regenerative tourism. As we prepare our submission, we would love to hear your insights into the strategic directions and priorities for trails and tourism across Canada, including what you envision as the three things that Canada should be known for as a tourism destination by 2030. To share your perspectives, please email us, using the subject heading Federal Tourism Growth Strategy by July 15th, 2022.
You can read more about the consultation process about developing the Federal Tourism Growth Strategy here. |
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TRAIL RESEARCH HUB BLOG
Sharing Insights between Newsletters |
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We recently released a number of Blog Posts on trail topics of benefit to the trails community, including a piece on The Value of Research For Trails, and one about the important role of carrying capacity in determining whether your trail is Recreation Ready or Tourism Ready. We are also planning a series of White Papers to help connect various levels of Government to the issues the Trail Community faces and to share our in-progress research findings. To help us have the widest impact, and generate the greatest benefit, we're looking for your insights into topics of interest to members of the Canada Trail Community. If there is a Blog topic you would like us to cover, please click on the link below to submit your suggestion. |
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