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Early Bird Draw on May 21st, 2024 - $50 Shell Gift Card
Final Draw on June 17th, 2024 - 50% of total pot
Licence Number: LGCA-8036-RF-43660
WINNER: Pot - $1,910 Winner gets $955 - Carolynn Derkach
Thanks to all for participating!
🍁🎟️ Autumn is Awesome: Our 50/50 Raffle! 🍂🌳
The leaves are changing, the air is crisp, and "Autumn is Amazing"
We're excited to invite you to participate in our 50/50 raffle, a way to support our ongoing efforts to maintain, upgrade, and enhance the Harte Trail.
Draw will happen on Monday, October 30, 2023 @ 7:00
Tickets:
1 for $5
3 for $10
10 for $20
50 for $50
🌿 Why Should You Join?
Your support in this raffle will directly contribute to future projects we have in store for the Harte Trail. We aim to make our beautiful trail even better for everyone who enjoys it:
🌳 Tree Plantings: Help us enrich the natural beauty of the trail by planting new trees, adding to the splendor of the changing seasons.
♻️ Continued Trail Improvement: This year we’ve added new dog poo stations and more recycling bins. Further improvements are in the works!
🚧 Perimeter Highway Crossing: We're continuing our efforts to advocate for a safe crossing over the Perimeter Highway, making the trail more accessible for all.
🎅🤶 2nd Annual Visit with Santa & Mrs. Claus: Get ready for the holiday season as we bring Santa and Mrs. Claus back to the Harte Trail for another heartwarming visit.
💰 How to Participate:
Participating in the "Autumn is Amazing" 50/50 raffle is easy! Simply visit our raffle page at this link below to purchase your tickets.
Rules:
1. The method of the draw is electronic and will take place Monday, October 30, 2023 @ 7:00 pm, at 22 Atkinson Rd, Winnipeg, MB. The winner will be contacted directly according to information given at time of ticket purchase.
2. In the event that pandemic restrictions are in effect, the draw will also be live streamed/video recorded and available to watch on the Harte Trail Website.
3. Draw prize must be claimed by the selected winner within 15 days of the draw. If the selected winner does not claim the prize within 15 days of the draw, another winner will be drawn by Friends of the Harte Trail (FOTHT).
4. Winner will be selected using a certified random number generator.
5. Must be 18 years of age or older to purchase.
6. Purchaser must be resident of Manitoba or physically located in Manitoba at time of purchase.
7. Raffle tickets are not eligible for a tax receipt.
8. The prize awarded to the winning ticket will be 50% of the total tickets sales.
9. FOTHT Board Members are not allowed to participate in the raffle.
We have some fantastic news to share. Our beloved Harte Trail has just become even better, thanks to some wonderful improvements that have recently been implemented. If you're a regular trail user or a nature lover, you'll definitely appreciate the positive changes we've made to enhance your experience.
1. A Cleaner Trail for All Canine Companions 🐾
We are delighted to announce that four new dog waste bag stations have been strategically placed along the trail to ensure a cleaner and more pleasant environment for everyone. These stations can be found at the Cullen, Community Row, Buckingham, and Elmhurst sections of the trail.
Our dedicated board member, Jim, deserves a round of applause for spearheading this initiative. Jim's dedication to improving the trail experience for both human visitors and their furry friends is truly commendable. Thanks to his hard work, these dog waste bag stations are now available to make responsible pet ownership even easier.
But the improvements don't stop there! These stations are regularly replenished with waste bags by the Friends of the Harte Trail. We understand the importance of making it convenient for you to keep the trail clean, so if you notice a station running low on bags, simply send us a message (or scanning the QR code), and we'll refill it. Together, we can maintain a pristine trail that everyone can enjoy.
2. Promoting Sustainability: Introducing New Recycling Bins ♻️
At Harte Trail, we are committed to not only providing an enjoyable experience for trail users but also promoting sustainable practices. That's why we are thrilled to introduce our newly added recycling bins along the trail. These bins can be found at key locations, including Cathcart, Buckingham, Harstone, and Charleswood Road.
This sustainable initiative was made possible thanks to the dedicated efforts of our board member, Murray. Murray's passion for environmental responsibility and his commitment to the community have resulted in the addition of these recycling bins. Now, you can conveniently dispose of recyclable materials while enjoying your time on the trail, making a positive impact on our planet.
Your Support Makes a Difference
None of these wonderful improvements would have been possible without the generous support of our community members. Every donation counts, and your contributions directly contribute to making the Harte Trail a better place for everyone. If you're as excited about these upgrades as we are, please consider signing up to donate and help us continue enhancing the trail for years to come.
To learn more about how you can get involved and support these initiatives, please visit our website at https://www.hartetrail.com/how-to-get-involved#/donate. Your involvement matters, and together, we can ensure that the Harte Trail remains a beautiful and sustainable oasis for all to enjoy.
This past Saturday was International Trails Day and board members from our organization came out to help clean up the trail at the future connection point of the Harte and Headingly Grant Trunk Trails. It was a hot day, but we managed to get 10 bags of trash and other items collected.
Keep an eye out on our events page & trail bulletin boards for future volunteer opportunities like this and more!
Let’s connect our Trails
A proper Active Transportation AT crossing will: support increased use of both trails, complete a link on the Trans Canada Trail, increase active transportation to and from both communities and, most importantly, improve safety at this heavily used informal crossing site.
Headingley Grant Trunk Trail Association (HGTTA) and Friends of the Harte Trail (FoHT) worked jointly on a project they received funding for by Infrastructure Canada - the Active Transportation Fund. To lay the groundwork for an active transportation (AT) crossing at PTH 100 (the perimeter highway) between the HGTT and HT (yellow box below).
Yellow box marks the location
As we started covering in episode #1 of this series,
animals have developed different strategies to survive the winter months.
Some of our trail animals use Hibernation as a way of surviving the inclement months. For others Topor is a better solution.
Hibernation is not just sleeping. It is a very complex concept and is still under study. Hibernation can range from short periods of inactivity ranging in length from hours to months. True hibernation, as exhibited by our thirteen lined ground squirrel, is a lengthy period of time where all body functions slow to a bare minimum and the animal is in a very deep sleep and are extremely hard to rouse. The body temperature can drop to just a degree or two above freezing. This type of hibernating animal is using stored body fat as its energy source. Like many animals that exhibit some type of hibernation the ground squirrel will overeat in the fall of the year and build up a supply of a special type of fat, called brown fat, which has a very high energy content. The Eastern Chipmunk that is seen along the trail demonstrates a different form of hibernation. It will eat heartily in the fall but also store food away in underground borrows. It will sleep for periods of time and then rouse to have a snack and then return to sleep. Another of our familiar animals demonstrates yet another type of hibernation.
The Red Squirrel can be seen running around on pleasant winter days but disappears on not so fine days. When the weather is not to its liking the squirrel will become inactive in a type of hibernation called topor. Topor is a time of reduced body functions and energy conservation but not to the same degree as the ground squirrel or chipmunk. During the fall it hides food supplies all over a designated area. When the weather is fine it will come out of its hiding place and go in search of its hidden treasures. The squirrel seems to have an excellent memory for where it hid food.
The Cottontail rabbit does not migrate, hibernate or store food for future use. Its main winter adjustment is to change its food supply. In the summer it eats a wide variety of green plants, including items from our vegetable and flower gardens. In the fall it changes from green plants to tree and shrub bark, buds, twigs and conifer needles. Once again some of these items maybe from our trees and shrubs. The rabbits have one interesting feature that helps it get the most out of what it eats. There is a special modification of the digestive system. The food taken in passes through the digestive system and the leftovers are eliminated as droppings. That sounds pretty normal, but the rabbit can produce special droppings, courtesy of a special part of the digestive system, that are different from the ones we see. These particular droppings are a different shape and colour. As soon as the rabbit expels these distinctive droppings it ingests them. There is still energy in these droppings which is extracted the second time through the digestive system. In this way the energy demands are met without having to find more food. To us the idea sounds revolting but to the rabbit it is a matter of survival.
And this is how some of the animals we see along the Harte trail survive the winter. There are a wide variety of other ways animals in our province make changes in their life style to accommodate the winter months.
Stay tuned to learn more!
As we well know our winters can be a time of shortened daylight hours, cold temperatures, snow covered ground and the occasional blizzard. We manage to get through the winter with heated cars, houses, layers of clothes and reduced exposure to the elements.
The question is…
The animals in our area must survive the same conditions as we do, so how do they manage to do it?
The conditions that signal animals to prepare for winter are still under study but daylight length, weather and food supply seem to be factors.
There are a few ways that the animals have developed to survive the winter. They can migrate, adapt or hibernate.
Most of our song birds and waterfowl, choose the migration option and fly south to where conditions are more favorable in terms of temperature, food, habitat and possibly breeding. Not all of our birds migrate and those that stay have developed some special ways to help cope. All the birds that remain here use their feathers as insulation. Feathers are amazingly good insulators and when birds puff them up, air gets trapped in. This trapped air is then warmed by the bird’s body and acts like a central heating system. Birds will often only stand on one foot at a time, keeping one leg tucked up into the feathers.
Another strategy is seeking warmth in numbers or shelter. You may see sparrows and other birds grouped together. This version of a group hug helps to retain heat. This type of activity is often used at night. Birds will also flock up in trees, particularly coniferous trees, to seek protection from the wind and the weather in general. On particularly unpleasant days birds will not leave their places of refuge at all. They will wait for better conditions before venturing out. At night the birds can slow down their body functions as an energy saving technique. Some birds have developed a special type of shivering to generate warmth.
As for food supply, birds have a number of different ways of dealing with the situation. Some of the birds do overeat in the time period just before the weather takes a turn. Most of the extra food intake is turned into fat and stored on their bodies for future use. Because birds still have to be able to fly they cannot accumulate too much in the way of extra weight. Some of the overwintering birds hide seeds and other energy sources in the bark of trees or other nooks and crannies. The idea being that they will find it later when they need it. The Chickadee is an example of a bird that hides food items away for future use. The Chickadee has been shown to have the memory part of its brain increase in size in the fall of the year and then return to normal size in the spring. This increased brain capacity is thought to help the Chickadee remember where it has hidden its food supplies. The Common Redpole has a special storage place in its throat region. This permits the bird to quickly gather seeds, store them and return to a safe place. Once out of harm’s way it retrieves the seeds from the special storage area and proceeds to digest them.
A number of animals use body and behavioural changes as a way of coping with the winter.
The whitetail deer we see in our neighbourhood are good examples of these adaptations. The deer makes changes to their coat. The outer guard hair, which is hollow, thickens making it a good insulator. An inner coat is grown to add extra layer of insulation. The colour of the coat darkens considerably compared to the summer coat. This colour change allows them to blend better with their surroundings and makes it harder for predators to see them. The dark colour also absorbs the energy from the sun better than the lighter coat. The coat acts as a solar heater on the warmer sunny days. The deer reduce their activity level during the cold periods as an energy conservation method, a strategy shared by other species a such as the bison. At night, in particular they will form groups, where a number of deer will come together to share mutual warmth. This gathering together is called yarding. The deer also change the type of food that they eat during the winter. Because they are browsers and not grazers a general covering of snow does not affect their food supply. Instead of leaves and shoots they will eat plant buds, twigs and the bark of trees. To help with the energy use requirements the deer can lower their body metabolism and therefore require less food intake.
FortWhyte’s Bison Herd hunkering down during a snowfall.
Check out our second episode in this series: Animals in winter – How do they survive? Episode #2 to learn about more strategies for survival that animals aroudn us implement to make it through the winter months.
Happy written in snow on a sign along a trail. (A.Luca)
We are all very familiar with the concept of snow. It can be beautiful and the basis of a number of winter activities. It can, however, fill our sidewalks and drive ways, clog up our roads and make walking and driving difficult. It can, in sufficient amounts, cause damage to trees, shrubs, buildings, power poles and bring a city or region to a standstill.
We call what we see falling from winter clouds snowflakes. What we see land on a surface is quite different from where and how it began its journey. What we call snowflakes are actually a collection of ice crystals. The ice crystal formed in the clouds some distance above the ground. Before any ice crystal can form a couple of conditions must be present in the atmosphere. There has to be water vapor and minute particles of matter. These particles can be any kind of solid matter including salt crystals.
To start the process water vapour must collect on the particle. The water vapor then turns directly into ice with no liquid water stage occurring. This transition from vapour to ice is just one of the many interesting things about the chemistry of water. Because of the shape of water molecules and the way that they join together the ice crystal takes the shape of a six sided prism.
The prism shape has six sides and a top and bottom surface. As the ice crystal is moved around by moving air it bumps into more water vapour that freezes onto it, thus increasing its size. The growth in size of the ice crystals occurs at each of the six points of the hexagonal prism. The process gives the ice crystal its characteristic six sided shape. The way a snow crystal grows is dependent on the temperature in the clouds and the amount of water vapor. In time the ice crystal is too heavy for the moving air to hold it up. It starts to fall toward the ground. Because there are so many ice crystals in the cloud and the air is moving, the ice crystals bump into each other. Depending on conditions, the ice crystals that collided with each other may stick together. At the point where ice crystals stick together we have the concept of a snow flake, because a snow flake is many ice crystals stuck together. So what we see falling from the clouds and call snowflakes is in reality a very large collection of ice crystal joined together. The actual shape of the snow flake that we see is dependent on what happens to it on the way to the ground. Atmospheric conditions such as air movement, moisture and air temperature have a significant effect on the final shape of the snow flake.
What Colour is Snow?
When we see snow falling or snow on the ground it is described as being white in colour. This observation is interesting because the ice crystals that make up the snow flake are clear. The answer lies in what happens to light when it hits the snow flakes. When an object reflects back all the wavelengths of the visible spectrum we have learned to call the colour of the object white. That is exactly what happens inside a snow flake. The light enters into the snow flake, bounces around from ice crystal to ice crystal and leaves the snow flake to be captured by our eyes. Because all the wave lengths that went into the snow flake come out, we record the colour as white. Sometimes if the light penetrates into the snow on the ground, some of the red wave lengths do not come back out and we may record the snow colour as being slightly blue. Our eyes are good at adapting to such things but if you take a photograph of the snow scene you will more than likely see a blue tinge in the picture.
Snow as Sound Absorber
Have you ever gone outside after a generous fall of fluffy snow and things seem unusually quiet. The reason is that the light snow on the ground has trapped a large amount of air in it. The sound energy strikes the snow but is not reflected back. The air pockets trapped in the snow act as sound absorbing chambers, thus the reduced sound levels.
Snow Noises
Have you ever noticed when walking or driving on snow that it makes a sound? When the air temperature is -10°C or lower the ice crystals that form the snow do not want to slide over each other as readily as they do at warmer temperatures. The ice crystals grind against each other or actually break making the distinctive crunch or squeak.
Snow as an Insulator
This may sound unusual because we know snow to be cold to the touch. In fact snow can act as an insulator in couple of important ways. As snow falls to the ground it traps a certain amount of air among the flakes. This trapped air prevents heat transfer just like the filling in your winter jacket. The more trapped air the better the insulation value. The longer the snow is on the ground the lower the insulation rate as the snow becomes more compact and thus has fewer air spaces. This snow insulation factor is important in that it affects how cold the ground gets and therefore has an effect on the degree to which the ground freezes. This can be a very important factor for animals that burrow into the soil and leaves to survive the winter. In a similar way the insulator property of snow is important to the mice and voles that do not hibernate and live in the space between the ground and the layer of the snow next to the ground. The space that they live in is called the Subnivian zone. It is created when some residual heat from the ground causes the snow to go straight to water vapour without the liquid stage (sound familiar). The water vapour wicks up into the snow and freezes. The iced layer forms the roof of the tunnels that these animals make in the snow. It does not take many centimetres of snow to keep the temperatures in the tunnels around or slightly above the freezing mark.
In more human terms we have used the insulating value of snow for a long time. An example of this is the igloo. Blocks of packed snow cut, shaped and stacked one upon the other to form a habitable shelter.
Part of a winter survival program may include the idea of using natural or making snow caves to get out of the elements on a temporary basis. Another example would be the making of a quinzee on a winter camping experience. We may or may not appreciate snow but it is a very significant factor in the natural world.
Another Great Turnout
on October 2, 2021!
A big shout out to all the volunteers, members, neighbours and unsuspecting passer-bys, who all helped to complete another substantial planting session.
Fall 2021 Planting along the Harte Trail - Another Great Turnout on October 2, 2021!
Read more
The Friends of the Harte Trail team would like to give a massive thank you to Kim Sysa who volunteered to make these amazing signs for the trail!
Please check out the following video on CTV that features Harte Trail President, Phil and Kim in this video!
Our Spring 2021 50/50 Fundraiser is here! Please follow this link to the Funding Change website to learn how to buy your tickets for a chance to win! and to help support our Harte Trail!
The winner takes half and the rest goes to the trail.
All donations go to support the Harte Trail, direct to our community and our environment. No in-between, no large overhead, we are a very small group of volunteers, every dollar goes right into our Trail.
Tree Plants! Spring last year, we gave away over 300 trees to the community, and on September 19th we will have our Fall Tree Plant along the Trail (details here).
New stuff! Last year we installed some new signage at each intersection, the interpretive sign @ Van Roon Garden was replaced, soon to have the same @ the Shaftsbury entrance to the trail, we put up a dog waste bag dispenser (below), more to come!
Funding Change is an online raffle platform that allows non-profit organizations to run raffles of different kinds online. For questions on Funding Change
Do you know where the name of your Harte Trail originated? To answer that question it is necessary to go back into railway history a bit. The Harte Subdivision was the first section of track that was built by the Grand Trunk Railway in western Canada and was in use from 1894 to 1970. The Subdivision took its name from a small community that was a short distance west of Winnipeg. That community no longer exists. Trains used to leave downtown Winnipeg and pass by Pacific Junction Station on their way to Portage La Prairie. If you walk Eastward on the trail from Elmhurst you will, on your right, come across a commutative plaque with information and photographs of Pacific Junction station and you can still see some of the original wooden railroad ties to which the steel rails were attached.
Then there was the CN Cabot subdivision rail line and starting in July 1970 the Prairie Dog Central steam train ran on these tracks. The train departed from a make shift station at Elmhurst and Ridgewood and travelled west through Charleswood, across the Perimeter Highway and on to the end of the line on stretch of track called the CN Harte Subdivision. Once at its destination the engine would be detached from the front of the train, run around the train cars, using a secondary track and be attached to the rear of the train cars. The engine would then pull the cars backwards to the starting point. This track, our present trail, was in use in this manner until September of 1974. The last run of the Prairie Dog Central on our trail/track was September 29th 1974. After that the rails lay idle for a while and were then removed. The empty roadbed became our Harte Trail
As the winter snow melts away lawns and gardens start to reappear. Most years this is a pleasant sight. Some years, however, what appears instead of an orderly fall prepared lawn is an infrastructure of grass lined streets and roads. These pathways are an indication that it has been a very busy winter for a small rodent known as the Meadow Vole. These little creatures also go by the aliases of Field Mouse and Meadow Mouse.
Voles are active all year round but are seldom seen. They are most noticed after a cold winter with a fair amount of snow. The pathways most often are revealed from an area where the snow was deepest such as under a drift created directly by the wind or a bounce back drift from a building or other object.
Voles are relatives of the mouse but are not true mice. The differences centre around a stouter body, shorter hair covered tail, rounder head, smaller ears, smaller eyes and a slightly different type of teeth.
Their preferred habitats are fields and grassy areas, including cultivated lawns. What is seen after the snow has melted are runways on the surface of the ground. The runways are marked by trimmed grass that has been used for food during the winter. These runways are created by the constant movement of the voles under the snow. Some trails are more heavily used than others and may lead to an area of food storage or nesting site in a more protected area.
The voles move in the space between the ground and the under layer of snow. This living space is called the subnivean zone. The subnivean zone can be created in two main ways. When the snow starts to fall it is caught up on long grasses, branches, twigs and leaves and never reaches the ground, thus creating a cave like space. In an open area the space is formed by a different process. The first snow that lands on the ground is slightly heated by warmth in the ground and this warmth causes a change in the snow. The thin contact area between ground and snow under goes a change whereby the solid snow is changed into water vapour with no liquid stage. The snow at the contact area changes into ice crystals because of this process. The ice crystals form an insulating roof which allows the voles to tunnel, undetected, beneath the snow and be insulated from the cold.
In a majority of cases the damage to lawns is not terribly severe and self correcting. It may take a little more raking to clean up the grass trimmings but little else.
Despite its name, The Great Horned Owl doesn’t actually have horns. Instead it has tufts of feathers on either side of its head, which resemble horns. The bird's feathers are brown to gray, except for the ones on its throat, which are white. The face is a reddish brown colour. Great horned owls have a wingspan of approximately 1.4 meters and weigh just 1.4 kilograms. They are one of North America’s largest and most widespread owl species. Though common, great horned owls are rarely seen due to their nocturnal habits and excellent camouflage. The owl’s flight feathers have soft edges that allow it to fly silently.
Owls cannot move their eyes; therefore they have to move their whole head to see what is around them.
Owls have special features that allow them to be able to turn their heads from side to side over a much wider range than humans. The owl has 14 vertebrae in its neck while a human has 7. The skull of the owl sits on just one special bone at the top of its vertebral column whereas the human uses two bones. This single bone arrangement allows the head to turn side to side more readily. There are also special blood vessels.
Wind Chill… What’s in a number? In this case what is behind the number and how is it best utilized?
Wind chill is the cooling effect on the skin caused by a combination of temperature and wind. The number stands for the amount of cooling that the skin on the face experiences and we feel. The number that we are given is a temperature equivalent to the cooling sensation that your skin would feel in a calm wind. As an example, if the air temperature is -10 degrees and the wind chill value is -20, your face will feel as cold as if the wind is calm and the air temperature was -20 degrees. The wind chill number is not an actual temperature but a sensation of coldness. As a result it is not stated with a degree symbol. In the given example the weather conditions would be given as the temperature is -10 degrees with a wind chill of -20.
How Does Wind Chill Affect You?
To understand the effect you need to be aware that our skin has a thin layer of warmed air next to it. The air is warmed by our body heat. This thin layer acts as an insulating layer between the cold air and our skin. Wind tries to remove this heated layer and the body tries to replace it. It is a kind of tug – a war. We make it and the wind pulls it away. As long as the body is winning the contest our skin remains comfortable. However, when the wind has the upper hand the body cannot keep up the skin starts to cool. This process gradually removes energy from the body which over a time period can lead to other cold related problems such as frostnip, frostbite and hypothermia.
Another part of the cooling process is caused by evaporation of moisture from the skin. Wind increase the rate of evaporation and as the evaporation process causes cooling; the skin experiences another heat loss factor.
The concept of wind chill is not a new idea. The first experiments with heat loss from the skin started back in the late 1940’s. The initial methods were, by today’s standards, rather simplistic but they did serve as a sound starting point. Over the years many other methods and experiments, including tests on human volunteers, have been explored and the results are the numbers that we now have. As noted, today’s number are given in a temperature equivalent but you may remember when the values where in watts per square meter. An example number from earlier times might have been 1500 watts per square metre. It is much easier for us to relate to the present values. Wind chill does not have any effect on objects. Therefore you car in the driveway does not suffer from wind chill it just loses heat faster when there is a wind. Wind chill does not affect the actual temperature of the air.
The numbers that we see are the result of some rather complex mathematics. Values are calculated for temperatures from 10 degrees and below with a wind velocity of 4.8 kph or greater.
Because wind chill values are based on calculations they are best used as guide lines for outdoor activity. For instance the wind chill value does not take into account the effect of direct sunshine, which can have a warming factor even on a cold day. The current calculations do not consider the effect of humidity. Besides being used as guides to personal behavior the numbers are used by organizations to decide if outdoor activities should be cancelled. Examples might be whether school buses are going to be running and if recess at school will have to be an indoor activity on that day or the scheduling of warm up breaks for outdoor workers.
Be aware, prepare and enjoy being outdoors.
The winter can be an enjoyable time of year as it allows us to participate in a variety of outdoor activities specific to the season. While taking part in these activities there is something of which we must be aware. That something is frostbite.
Frostbite is an injury caused by the freezing of the skin and underlying tissue. The most common cause of frostbite is cold temperatures which can be made even more damaging by windy conditions. The risk of frostbite increases when temperatures are -15 degrees or lower. The fingers, toes, nose, cheeks and chin are the most common areas affected. Frostbite can happen to unexposed skin as well as exposed skin. Touching frozen objects can also cause frostbite. Damage to the skin is a result of ice crystals forming in the liquid part of the skin cells. This process can cause the cells to break and die.
Frostbite occurs in stages.
The least severe form is called frostnip. At this level the skin gets very cold and possibly becomes numb or produces a tingly feeling. If the condition is recognized at this level and treated there will not be any permanent skin damage. The first aid for frost nip is to get out of the cold as soon as possible and gently warm the skin. The warming process could be using body heat, hands under the arm pits for example or placing the affected area in a warm water bath. The temperature of the bath must not be hot. The best suggestion is that the water be just warm to the touch. Do not rub or massage the affected area. During the warming period there can be tingling and some pain. Depending on the degree of the injury there could also be some swelling.
The next stage after frostnip is superficial frostbite. The cold skin that may have turned reddish now becomes white or pale in colour. If the skin starts to feel warm this indicates the possibility of serious skin involvement. The actions to be taken are the same as before. During the warming process the skin may appear mottled and there could be stinging or burning sensations as well as swelling. At this level it is possible that blisters may form 12 to 36 hours after warming.
As frostbite progresses it affects all the layers of the skin including the tissues under it. The skin can become white or bluish-gray and become numb to sensations of cold and discomfort. This is a serious situation. The warming process is the same. After warming the affected tissue turns black in colour and hard to the touch. Medical assistance is definitely required.
To enjoy the winter weather there are a number of things to keep in mind that will help reduce the risk of frostbite. First and foremost, check the weather forecast and present conditions. This is the easiest way to decide if you want to be outdoors. Dress in layers as air is trapped between the layers of clothing and this air acts as insulation. The outer layer should be wind protective and even perhaps water proof. The under layers should be able to remove perspiration from the skin. The head should have a covering that covers the ears and as much of the face as is reasonable but does not interfere with vision. Mitts are better than gloves in terms of keeping hands warm. Double layer mitts are even better. An example would be woolen mitts inside a pair of leather mitts. Socks are an important consideration. They should be insulatory in nature but not so thick that they make the foot fit tightly in the footwear. The feet and toes have to be able to move comfortably. The sock material should wick moisture away from the skin.
By taking a few precautions, being observant of each other and wearing suitable clothing, the outdoors in winter can be a wonderful experience.
Western most part of the Harte Trail, North of Ridgewood West, East of Dale, right next to Perimeter Highway
As you know, July 2020 the Friends of the Harte Trail gave away 300 trees! We also installed a dog waste bag dispenser you see above. This dispenser was paid for by donations from Qualico, members of the Harte Trail and the Charleswood Community. The sign, station and bags are maintained by volunteers. As we all experience dog waste, and individuals who do not clean up after their family members, this was our hope to help. This is also our pilot project to test if we can continue to install these along our lovely Trail!
However, please, this dispenser is a “whoops I forgot a bag at home, thank goodness for this device here”.
This dispenser is not a “well I don’t need to buy bags now, and I might as well stand here and drain this entire station because who cares, mine now”.
Yes this has happened, no its not just an increase in folks grabbing 1 or 2 bags. members have shared picture(s) of the dispenser being emptied, in handfuls, and pocketed, and if it continues we cannot afford to maintain that station! (we are going to re-order and re-fill now, we wanted to get this info off first).
On to other news. Trail use is up by an average of 44% among younger Canadians. The fact that Canadians see trails as an opportunity to enhance their mental health (95%) is a resounding affirmation of the importance of maintaining access to this free, public resource that the survey demonstrates has clearly become a lifeline for Canadians during COVID. While this data on mental health benefits was uniform amongst all age groups, among Canadians 18-24 year 100% of them affirmed that they access trails to enhance their mental health and well-being.
And, this trail use trend looks to continue into the winter.
Lastly as you might be aware, the Manitoba government is working on developing a Provincial Trails Strategy. As part of this process, the government is seeking input from trail users, builders, communities and other potentially interested individuals and organizations.
We want to better understand:
how you use trails in Manitoba
trail amenities that are important to you
barriers that impact your trail use
how to get people more involved with recreational trails
ideas for trail building and maintenance
We Want Your Feedback
Whether you currently use trails in Manitoba or would like to in the future, we would like to hear from you.
Complete the online survey by January 15, 2021.
Share an idea about how to improve Manitoba’s network of trails.
This information is available in an alternate format upon request, please contact MBTrails@gov.mb.ca
Executive Board Treasurer Murray M, 50/50 Winner Allan D, and President Philip Jenkinson. Photo Cred— Executive Board Member Jim A.
Charleswood resident Allan came across hartetrail.com just minutes before the 50/50 closed. As a long time Harte Trail user, Allan didn’t hesitate to enter the draw. Turns out it he made the right call!
Allan made it his goal in 2020 to put 2000km biking on the Harte Trail, with just under 50km left to meet his goal Allan now has $2000 to go along with it!
Thanks to everyone that entered, we look forward to the Spring 50/50 fundraiser.
A gorgeous September day brought in many volunteers from Charleswood, Youth Leadership Team Wild Outside, our friends from City of Winnipeg Naturalist Department and many other folks made the drive to Charleswood to help.
Our morning kicked off with Good News Saturday phone call to 50/50 Winner Alan D. After a last minute reminder, he picked up a few tickets minutes before it closed, only to find he was taking home $2000! Congrats Alan.
Few came early and excited, others stopped in unknowingly as they passed by the plant area. Over 75 trees were planted in well under an hour, the best turn out yet for Harte Trail as folks came and went throughout the morning.
Thank you everyone for working safe and respecting everyone’s space. Look forward to seeing you in the Spring for our first tree plant of 2021.
click to scroll pictures below
