Welcome to
The Trail Research Hub Digest |
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A Note from Our Chair: Updates and Changes to Our Newsletter
Outreach Summary: The Trail Research Hub presents at World Trails Conference Trail Update: Group of Seven Lake Superior Trail Outreach Summary: The Trail Research Hub delivers a GMIST Sandbox Series Session
Article Breakdown: Financing recreational trails through donations (Nowak & Heldt, 2023) Advocacy Update: Destination Canada's National Tourism Sector Associations Meeting Research Update: Summer 2023 Collaborative Research and Teaching Trip Trail Research Hub Blog: Sharing Insights Between Newsletters |
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A NOTE FROM OUR CHAIR
Updates and Changes to our Newsletter |
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Kelsey Johansen, Phd Chair, the Trail Research Hub |
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It's been a minute!
Here at the Trail Research Hub, and like many of you, we've had a busy winter with numerous projects on the go, and we're excited to share some of our updates on these initiatives with you below. We're also switching the timing of the release of our bi-annual newsletter to May 1st and November 1st of each year, to better align with the beginning of the Spring/Summer and Fall / Winter trail seasons. We hope that you'll enjoy the 4th edition of our newsletter, which includes outreach, trail project, advocacy, and research updates, as well as a new feature, called 'Article Breakdown', which we will also be carrying forward to our Blog. At the end of the newsletter, please click on the link to share your thoughts about upcoming Blog posts and Blog post themes. Happy Trails, Kelsey |
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OUTREACH SUMMARY
The Trail Research Hub presents at World Trails Conference in Skaithos, Greece |
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Jane McCulloch President, Canadian Trails Federation and
Researcher / Community Liaison (Atlantic Canada) with the Trail Research Hub |
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The presentation focused on providing insight into our interim findings including pre-existing organizational challenges and emerging pandemic restraints experienced by trail organizations in Ontario and Atlantic Canada, as well as a proposed solution including the formation of regional collective impact groups to pool resources (human, financial, and tools / equipment), reduce competition for volunteers and grants, and advocate on behalf of trail groups to government for improved fundings and support. The presentation was very well received and generated some interesting conversations with delegates from Australia, the United States, Switzerland and England. Organizational capacity is a challenge for trail organizations around the world, and attendees found the idea of collective impact and social enterprise an interesting potential solution to address capacity issues and were keen to learn more about our research. |
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However, what Jane felt was more important, was the discussion that was generated during the Q and A following her presentation. During this segment, Jane was able to speak in greater detail about the value and importance of engaging a broad range of stakeholders in all aspects of trail building, promotion and management. This is why creating sustainability by marrying social enterprise principles and collective impact to leverage a broad range of skills will be critical to the future of the trail industry. Often trail organizations focus on developing partnerships with traditional organizations or work with the same organizations without thinking outside of the box to create relationships with non-traditional partners that may allow them to capitalize on other skillsets that would strengthen the capacity of the trail organizations. |
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The conference was an enlightening experience. From trails being used by women in Rural Kenya to transport water for their families, to the reopening of the over 500 year old Trans Bhutan Trail, it was certainly an eye-opening experience with many lessons learned, many relationships established, and interesting partnerships discussed. The World Trails Network was founded in 2012. Since 2015 it has been a non-profit association in Geneva, Switzerland. The Network is the largest globally representative and dedicated trails non-profit organization of its kind, consisting of trail organizations and professional trail experts, working collaboratively for the enhancement and betterment of trails around the world. The network hosts the biennial World Trails Conference, established in Korea in 2010, and is also the convener of the World Trails Film Festival, amongst other projects and initiatives. The World Trails Conference is a global gathering of trail experts, trail managers and builders, trail destinations, enthusiasts and academics. The conference, hosted in a different country every two years, is the only event of its kind that provides a global platform for trails. We look forward to attending the next World Trails Conference, which will be held in Ottawa and hosted by Trans Canada Trail, in partnership with Ottawa Tourism and supported by the Bruce Trail Conservancy, in early Fall 2024. Read the Conference announcement here. |
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TRAIL UPDATE The Group of Seven Lake Superior Trail |
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Kirsten Spence
Group of Seven Project Coordinator and
Researcher / Community Liaison (Ontario) with the Trail Research Hub |
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It's been another busy year for the Group of Seven Lake Superior Trail Association. The Group of Seven traveled north to the region on their annual painting trips between 1921 and 1928, forging a Canadian identity through their art. Now 100 years later, we celebrate these talented Canadian painters and their bold colours, the shafts of light, unique forms of islands and interpretation of stark landscapes. Situated on the Northshore of Lake Superior, our project is connecting the painting sites with a rugged hiking trail allowing you to stand where Lawren Harris, AY Jackson or Francis Carmichael sat and captured the bright blue of Lake Superior. To reflect on what elements they changed, removed, enhanced or accentuated in their paintings, compared to the stunning landscapes and views along the trail, is a fascinating study. To see the light reflect exactly the same way as it did all those years ago allows us to feel closer to these artists, understand their vision for Canadian art, and marvel in their talent and ability to capture that same light. |
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As we turn our eyes toward the upcoming 2023 field season for the Group of Seven Lake Superior Trail in Marathon, Ontario, we can’t help but look back to 2022 and what we were able to achieve! It is easy to forget all the work that was completed, until we put our Annual Report together that is. The Annual Report is a great way to archive the yearly progress we make on this trail.
In 2022, we built 4.5kms of new coastal hiking trail from the Marathon Boat Launch to Carden Cove. This removed the trail from the shoulder of Carden Cove Road, improving the trail experience for all. As an Association, we have currently have 42 kms of trail that we maintain and the 2022 Trail Crew did another outstanding job. We built a 24’ footbridge across Duncan Creek which allows trail users to keep their feet dry while hiking the Coastal Trail. We also formally took over management of the Mink Creek Falls Trail and the Trail Crew got a great start on upgrading sections of that. We installed a lot of signage, led guided hikes, and forged new relationships with Marathon’s Business Community. We also partnered with the Marathon Family Health Team to develop 7 walkable loops around Marathon with corresponding wayfinding and trailhead signage. We were able to complete all this work with the support of our 8 outstanding staff members. Throughout the 2022 Season, we also met many new people travelling the Northshore and stopping to hike Marathon’s trails. |
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As we look forward to the start of the 2023 season, we're excited to announce that we received a Trail Care Grant from Trans Canada Trail, which we have utilised to purchase some new trail building tools and a pack for our Trail Crew for the upcoming summer season. On that one, we have hired the majority of our 2023 Trail Crew, and are excited to welcome back some familiar faces. Head on over to our Instagram page in early June where we'll be introducing them to you. We are also getting ready to launch our interpretive program, a new website, and app. We have a list of construction projects that we’d like to undertake, as we develop our business and strategic plan and being offering programming such as art courses and guided hikes. We'll also be researching the locations for the accommodation cabins we’d like to build in the future.
We hope you will be able to visit Marathon and immerse yourself the in the beauty of Lake Superior. There really is no other place in the world like it. This summer, come see what the Group of Seven discovered 100 years ago! |
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OUTREACH SUMMARY
The Trail Research Hub delivers a
GMIST Sandbox Series Session |
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Kelsey Johansen, PhD
Chair, the Trail Research Hub |
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This past November, our chair Dr. Kelsey Johansen delivered a presentation as a part of the Gros Morne Institute for Sustainable Tourism's Sandbox Series. |
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The Gros Morne Institute for Sustainable Tourism, or GMIST, advances the quality and success of tourism operators through an array of training programs developed and offered at the Institute and beyond. The objective is to enhance the quality and sustainability of tourism experiences afforded throughout Canada, by providing developmental training programs respecting: sustainable tourism practices, experiential tourism services and strong community development principles.
GMIST's Sandbox Sessions are designed to bring together small groups of industry colleagues to “play” around with a series of free themed sessions delivered in a very informal and interactive setting. Each session is led by an industry leader who provides a brief presentation on a practice or idea they have been focusing on within their business or community. The goal of these sessions is to create a space to share ideas. thoughts, questions and ideas with like-minded colleagues! |
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The talk, titled 'Knowing Your Numbers: Using Trail Carrying Capacity to Determine Recreation and Tourism Readiness' was delivered to a great group of tourism and trails professional and lead to a wonderful Q and A Session about sustainable tourism product development and community engagement. You can watch the recorded talk here. |
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ARTICLE BREAKDOWN Financing Recreational Trails through Donations
(Nowak & Heldt, 2023) |
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Kelsey Johansen, PhD
Chair, the Trail Research Hub |
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In our first 'Article Breakdown', I'll be exploring the key findings of Nowak & Heldt's (2023) article on Financing recreational trails through donations: testing behavioural theory in mountain biking recently published in the Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism (JORT) and talking about how their findings can be applied to trail organizations in Canada. If you're interested in reading the original, full, academic article, you can access it here. |
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In their article, Nowak and Heldt (2023), two researchers from Sweden, explore the challenges associated with funding recreational trails as a form of tourism destination development in publically accessible nature areas in response to the growing demand for trail-based recreation. They also highly the need for new strategies to realise the benefits and potential of trail tourism development in the Nordic countries, while highlighting the importance of not compromising the legally enshrined freedom to roam, called allemansrätten in Swedish, or the welfare of the natural environment. In the absence of governmental funding and grant programs, Nowak and Heldt (2023) note that funding for trail developments is typically derived from either 1) mandatory fees, or 2) voluntary donations and in-kind contributions from trail users. One key challenge that many trail organizations face is that mandatory fees are not viewed favourably by trail users. This is because mountain bikers tend to prefer "locally initiated, indirect measures ... instead of hard and direct regulations" (Nowak & Heldt, 2023, p. 2). In other cases, mandatory fees are not legally supported by municipalities and / or other levels of government. |
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To figure out how to encourage trail users (whether locals or trail tourists) to voluntarily donate to trail organizations to support the upkeep and development of trail, Nowak and Heldt (2023) explored 'behaviourally informed interventions in the form of normative social cues' to see how they can be used to enhance cooperation. More specifically, they conducted a field experiment in Rörbäcksnäs, a small villages and rural mountain biking destination in Dalarna County, Sweden to see what types of messaging on trailhead signage would increase the share and amount of donations contributed by users at mountain biking trails.
Like many Canadian trail organizations, the mountain biking trails in Rörbäcksnäs are built and maintained by a non-profit sports association called Rörbäcksnäs MTB and through the support of individual volunteers. Historically the Association collected donations via an online mobile banking payment system (KarmaKonto), at a suggested rate of approximately $2.65 CAD per ride or $13 CAD per season. Recently, due to an explosion of interest in the trails, the funds donated became insufficient to covered the costs associated with maintenance and development of the local mountain biking trail system. |
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Nowak and Heldt (2023) therefore modified signage at the entrance to the trail to include a message that emphasized the importance of donating to support the voluntary trail maintenance and development efforts, as well as information about recent levels and amounts of donations made. Importantly this included the statement: In recent weeks, 70 percent of visitors contributed an an average of 110SEK/ per person per ride. This is equal to approximately $14.50 CAD. |
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Nowak and Heldt (2023) found that mountain bikers were to a large extent willing to contribute financially to the upkeep of trails through donations when they were provided with information about the amount of previous contributions.
More specifically, subsequent to the signage modification, the amount and share of donation increased (Nowak and Heldt, 2023). Previously donation levels were consistent at 55.8%; after the modifications to the sign were made, donation levels increased to 72.6% of riders (ibid). With the added information provided on the sign, donation amounts also increased, from 65 SEK ($8.50 CAD) to 91 SEK ($11.90 CAD) per rider, per visit, an increase of approximately 40 percent! |
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Based on their findings, Nowak & Heldt (2023) suggest that non-profit trail organizations involved in the management of mountain biking trails as recreation and tourism assets would benefit from raising awareness about the the possibility to donate, for example through more channels and displays, and by testing different placements and designs of donation messaging. Nowak and Helft (2023) attribute the success of this messaging campaign to the tight-knit nature of the mountain biking community. Mountain bikers and other trail users tend to value the sociability of shared trails and trail-based activities, and frequently travel in groups (Nowak & Heldt, 2023). They also feel socially closer to non-local trail users that other type of tourists in commercial settings, such as hotel guests (ibid). This in turns motivates them to donate to local Associations comprised of fellow riders and volunteers, in addition to being motivated by seeing their fellow group ride participants' make donations at trailheads and being reminded that their peers have made similar donations even if they did not see it happening (ibid). |
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Application to Canadian Trails |
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If you're wondering how to leverage this information within your own trail organization, here are a few steps to consider: Begin collecting trailhead data so that you know how many riders or other trail users, on average, visit your trail each week, month, season, and year. Where possible, differentiate between trail user types. Compare the value of your annual donations, whether through your website, trailhead donation boxes, memberships / permits, or QR codes on trail signage against these visitation levels to figure out your baseline visitation and donation levels. Next, explore the way(s) that you discuss making donations with your membership and general users, and revise these messages accordingly using the three points below. Compare new visitation and donation levels to your baseline data (collectd in points 1 and 2 above) and, perhaps most importantly, communicate this back to your trail users with appreciation and to incentivise future donations.
As Nowak and Heldt (2023) found, simply asking for donations isn't enough. Effective requests for donations should: State existing support sources, including how much your organization depends on donations, Clearly describe how many users donate, and what the average donation is, and, Include information about what the funds will be used for, and what percentage of the funds go back to trails (if its 100%, confirm it, don't leave your trail users guessing)!
Lastly, remember that voluntary donations are an important part of trail culture, and requesting donations is a low/ no-cost fundraising venture that allows trail users to positively and directly benefit local trails, while preserving freedom through the elimination of mandatory trail fee policies. Alternatively, if you're looking to support your trail development and maintenance through grant applications, check out our earlier blog post on why 'All Trails Should have a 'Shovel-Ready Project' by Kirsten Spence and Jane McCulloch. |
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ADVOCACY UPDATE
Destination Canada's National Tourism Sector Associations Meeting |
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Jane McCulloch President, Canadian Trails Federation and
Researcher / Community Liaison (Atlantic Canada) with the Trail Research Hub |
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On April 25, 2023, our Researcher and Community Liaison (Atlantic Canada), Jane McCulloch represented the National Trails Coalition and the Canadian Trails Federation at a meeting of the national tourism sector organizations hosted in Ottawa by Destination Canada. |
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The federal Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance, the Honourable Randy Boissonnault opened the day with an inspiring welcome and discussed the tremendous impact tourism can have on the economy as we begin to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. |
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The day was a great opportunity to network with representatives from over 40 leading tourism organization from across Canada and to discuss how our respective organizations can contribute to the creation of a more vibrant tourism industry by 2030. The trail tourism industry was well represented at the event. Along with myself representing the Canadian Trails Federation, the National Trails Coalition, and the Trail Research Hub, there were also representatives from the Canadian Off-Highway Vehicle Association, the Canadian Council of Snowmobile Association, and the Trans Canada Trail. Being recognized as leaders in the tourism sector is a wonderful acknowledgment of the contribution trails can have on tourism and the economy. There has already been follow-up with Destination Canada, and they are keen to continue to engage this group of (trail tourism) stakeholders over the next few years as work continues on the development of a National Tourism Strategy. As the development of the Strategy continues, we will continue to advocate for trails as vectors for tourism development. |
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RESEARCH UPDATE
Summer 2023 Collaborative Research and Teaching Trip |
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Kelsey Johansen, PhD Chair, The Trail Research Hub |
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Beginning May 3rd, 2023 our Chair, Dr. Kelsey Johansen, will be embarking on a Summer Collaborative Research and Teaching Trip to Germany focused on Hiking Tourism or 'Wandertourismus' and trail town destination development in Canada and German in collaboration with colleagues from University of the Westcoast, Department of Economics and the German Institute for Tourism Research (Heide, Germany), and the Munich University of Applied Sciences, Department of Tourism (Munich, Germany). |
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In addition to collaborative research meetings and campus visits, her trip will include invited talks at several institutions and a conference, including: the University of Applied Management, Adventure Campus Treutchlingen (Nuremberg, Germany), the University of the Westcoast, Department of Economics (Heide, Germany), the 10th International Adventure Conference, at Adventure Campus Treutchlingen (Nuremberg, Germany), Munich University of Applied Sciences, Department of Tourism (Munich, Germany), and the German Institute for Tourism Research (University of the Westcoast, Heide, Germany).
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We'll keep you posted about her trip via our various social media platforms, or you can read more about the trip, including her invited talks, here. |
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TRAIL RESEARCH HUB BLOG
Sharing Insights between Newsletters |
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Kelsey Johansen, PhD Chair, The Trail Research Hub |
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Did you enjoy our Article Breakdown? Starting next month, we will be launching a new series of blog posts under the 'Article Breakdown' theme. In this series, we will explore recently published academic literature - journal articles, research notes, etc - with the aim of making them more accessible and relevant to a wider audience. We will provide background information about the study, highlight the study's main findings, and discuss their applicability to trails in Canada.
In the meantime, you can check out our previous Blog posts at www.TrailResearchHub.com/news where you can read our curated collection of thematic posts on the value of research for trails, trail towns, COVID-19 impacts on trails, trail planning, community and industry engagement, and more...
To help us have the widest impact, and generate the greatest benefit, we are also 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(s). |
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