NATURAL ENVIRONMENT

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I have been working with local groups and organizations to generate more use of the major walking trails and parks in the Valley East area and hope to convince fellow Councillors that the development of walking trails and parkland will benefit our region so much in the coming years. Just generating increased awareness among members of the walking trails that are available to them will stimulate people into using these wonderful parts of our city. There are several potential areas in the Sudbury portion of Ward 5 where new multi-use trails could easily be created with little financial investment. This will be a cultural shift for a large segment of the population which is accustomed to spending a lot of their recreational time inside. We need to get people using our outdoor facilities so that they become more connected with nature and it becomes that much easier to protect our natural environment. When people value something, they are more likely to take care of it on their own.

I intend to partner with local schools to see if we can develop a relationship that fosters young children and teens becoming actively involved in caring for our trails and parkland. This can be simply a way of keeping the trails clean in return for volunteer hours, but it will be done in a way that hopefully creates a life-long love of nature among our youth and a desire to protect the environment for their future.