‘Healthy Hikers’ take last steps this Sunday

A recent outing in the Evergreen ‘Healthy Hike’ series wound from Victoria Park subway station to the brick works.

This Sunday, Nov. 11, Evergreen Brick Works (EBW) concludes its Healthy Hike outings series for the fall.

The 10 a.m. hike is the seventh of the initiative’s first season. A hike earlier this month, on Nov. 4, followed the Taylor-Massey Creek. It was lead by Taylor Stone, program coordinator for Evergreen, and a small group of volunteers for an eight and a half-kilometer trek from Victoria Park subway station to the forks of EBW by Pottery Rd.

Stone stopped at several historical sites along the trail, such as Massey House (now a children’s theatre), to educate hikers about the area.

“I think it’s important to learn a bit about our local heritage and our local ecology. The ravines are a very important aspect of Toronto,” said Stone. “We have the largest ravine system of any city in the world. Getting Torontonians to appreciate it and appreciate that there is this potential to experience nature right in our backyards is important.”

Besides teaching attendees about the city, the hike also, of course, is good exercise.

Anthony Westenberg, public relations manager for EBW, says a lot of people don’t realize how much green space Toronto has.

“The outdoors and nature is something people want to experience so a lot of people go up to Muskoka and they can do that but there’s also nature in our backyard too,” he said. “All of Toronto’s green space is below the horizon line so we just want to invite people to come down for a walk in the ravines with us and once they do it and once they realize how healthy it is, how natural it is, how fun it is and how social it can be, they’ll return.”

Hiker Megan Robertson said she wanted to see Toronto in a different way.

“It gives you an appreciation for your city and with a guided tour you learn about the surrounding environment,” she said. “It seems a lot of people these days aren’t really exposed to nature in the city and this is a way to know it’s there and find a way to keep it alive and keep it growing.”

For more information on this Sunday’s hike visit ebw.evergreen.ca and look for Nature and Heritage Hikes.

About this article

By: Katie Wright
Posted: Nov 8 2012 4:17 pm
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Filed under: Arts & Life Community Features
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