E-Notes - June 2021
The big story in this issue of E-Notes is the plan for the return of our hiking program. Yes, all the signs are promising! Scroll down in this email to learn details of how this will be rolled out in a manner that highlights everyone's safety.
Also in this issue, we invite you to read the bios of our 2021 Board of Directors, now posted online. We salute one of our hike leaders, Jacqueline Scott, who was featured recently in not one, but two different media stories that deal with the topic of blackness and the outdoors. We provide links to the stories as well as to her blog. And we thank guest contributor Andrew Camani for the fascinating story behind a Royal Oak tree at Speyside, in the Toronto section of the trail.
Happy June, everyone.
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Meet the Board of 2021
These are the people who work behind the scenes, setting direction for our local Club, liaising with our mother organization, the Bruce Trail Conservancy, and troubleshooting problems as they arise. They're hard-working, they're talented, and they create and sustain the structure on which our successful Club runs.
Now you can go online to learn more about who they are, the expertise they bring to their roles, and the personal passions that inspired them to take on these leadership roles. Click this link for their bios.
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How Welcoming are Toronto's Ravines?
 Those of us who are happy to clamber down into Toronto's ravines don't always think about whether they are equally welcoming for all. This was the topic of a recent Globe and Mail article that featured Jacqueline Scott, one of TBTC's hike leaders. Jacqueline was also a recent guest on CBC radio's The Sunday Magazine, speaking on the topic of "Birds, Blackness and being outdoors".
Jacqueline's expertise on these topics goes well beyond personal experience. She has done her PhD research on the perception of the wilderness in the Black imagination, and she publishes a blog called Black Outdoors: Sharing the joys of the outdoors while black.
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Planning for a Safe Return to the Hiking Program
 As Ontario moves out of lockdown and into the three-step plan to reopen the province, the Bruce Trail Conservancy has updated its return to hiking plan for its 9 member clubs. (Note that the plan will be amended if the government introduces additional guidelines. If changes occur, we will inform our members.)
The Toronto Club will resume its hike program once the province moves into Step 1, and will design its hikes to follow the guidelines outlined below. Watch the hike calendar on the TBTC website for details.
Note that in Step 1, the hiking program is restricted to members. Step 2 allows members and their guests. In Step 3, when the limits on outdoor group sizes are increased or lifted altogether, we will once again open the hiking program to everyone, members and non-members.
Here is the criteria that the BTC has developed for each of the 3-step government opening stages:
Step 1:
- Hiking program can reopen in all Club sections with a limit of 10 hikers per hike, including the hike leader and sweep (8 hikers, 1 hike leader, and 1 sweep)
- Hikes are restricted to members only
- No car shuttles or bus hikes are permitted – all hikes must be out and back or loop hikes
- Hikers must keep a distance of at least 6 feet from each other
- Masks are recommended to be worn
- Hike Leaders and Hikers can carry hand sanitizer, but should not be sharing it within the group
- Individual End to Ends of the entire Bruce Trail can resume and will be acknowledged
Step 2:
- The limit on group size increases to 25 hikers
- Hikes are restricted to members and their guests
- No car shuttles or bus hikes are permitted – all hikes must be out and back or loop hikes
- Hikers must keep a distance of 6 feet from each other
- Masks are recommended to be worn
- Hike Leaders and Hikers can carry hand sanitizer, but should not be sharing it within the group
Step 3:
- Hikes will be open with no capacity restrictions, unless outdoor capacity limits are put in place by the Province for Step 3
- Car shuttles and bus hikes may resume
- Group end to end hikes may resume
- Event hikes may resume
Health and Safety Screening:
- Each hiker must perform the Ontario government’s COVID-19 assessment self-screening check before hiking.
- At the beginning of any organized hike, the hike leaders will perform a safety talk to inform the participants of the protocol for COVID 19.
- Hike Leaders will ask any hikers exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms not to participate.
- Hikers who experience COVID-19 symptoms following a hike must inform Public Health as they will be responsible for contact tracing.
Hikers are reminded of the COVID-10 safety guidelines:
- Do not share bug repellant, sunscreen, hand sanitizer, water etc.
- Bring your own first aid kit
- Stay 6 feet from others, as much as possible
- Move aside to allow others to pass on the trail
- Pack out everything you bring on your hike
- Masks are strongly recommended for everyone’s safety
- Know your location before the hike and in case of an emergency call 911
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The Royal Oak Tree of Speyside
by Andrew Camani
 The story of the Royal Oak of Speyside actually starts in England in 1651. England was near the end of their civil war and King Charles II was trying to escape with his life after the battle of Worcester. He later reported that he had hidden in an English Oak tree all day while parliamentary patrols searched for him. This tree became known as the Royal Oak tree and the English Oak got a new nick name. May 29th was celebrated as Royal Oak Day for centuries in England to mark the restoration of the monarchy.
In 1937, to celebrate the coronation of King George VI on May 12th, acorns from Windsor Park in England were sent all across the British Commonwealth.
A one room school stood on 22 Side Road north of Speyside. Students at SS#8 Dublin planted their acorn in a special evening ceremony in that year. When the school closed in 1960, they raised the money to have tree surgeons move the twenty foot high oak tree. They planted it beside the gym at the new school where it continues to grow. When the school closed in 1986, acorns were brought from England to plant “cousin” oak trees at Brookville, Limehouse, Pineview, and Stewarttown where the Speyside students were transferred.
The Royal Oak of Speyside received a heritage designation in 2007 for its cultural significance. A plaque, with the following inscription, was mounted on a stone near the tree. “Designated Tree 2007 – Speyside Royal Oak – Planted 1937 – Students of Dublin School planted an acorn from Windsor Park, England to mark the Coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. This oak provides a loving link to our heritage. – Heritage Halton Hills.” Since the tree is expected to live for up to 500 years any owner of the property is required to maintain it during its lifetime.
Today, the Royal Oak Tree stands beside a vacant, vandalized, school. No trespassing signs are posted at the entrances to the property. The plaque, that once honoured the tree, has been removed from the stone. Most, if not all, of the former students who witnessed the planting of the tree have passed away. Sadly, the tree appears to have seen better days. Looking at the tree, it reminded me of the Tony Orlando and Dawn song “Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree”. For a moment, I imagined the entire tree covered with yellow ribbons. As I turned to walk away, I thought I heard someone behind me say “It’s been eighty odd years, do they still want me?”
*Directions to the Royal Oak Tree: Toronto Section of the Bruce Trail – At km 11.4, the main trail reaches the Pear Tree Park and a parking area at 15 Sideroad. The Trail turns right along the road into Speyside. At the stoplight turn left and follow Hwy 25 for approximately 500 metres. The vacant school is on the right side of the road.
If you would like to support the publishing of the book “100 Forgotten Sites – along the Bruce Trail” by receiving a copy of “100 Hikers 100 Hikes” please contact Andrew: acamani50@gmail.com
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