Harte Trail 50/50 Fundraising Raffle

How do buy 50/50 tickets?

Our 2020 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

Where does my money go?

The winner takes half, 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.

1. Tree Plants! Spring this 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).

2. New stuff!, this 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!

to buy your tickets and more information visit the 50/50 page

Funding Change is an online raffle platform that allows non-profit organizations to run raffles of different kinds online.  For questions on Funding Change

Harte Trail Gives Away 300 Trees

Rising to the Million Tree Challenge

Thanks again Telpay & TreeCanada for the donation of these trees, we gave away over 300 in less than 3 hours. More info on their efforts towards the One Million Tree Challenge here.

As our typical semi-annual tree plants draw an abundance of community volunteers we decided against the Spring event, instead giving away trees for the community to enjoy on their own property.

A big part of our strategy is giving back to the community, but also awareness of our group is monumental to accomplish that task and to continue our efforts to maintain our Harte Trail.

We were thrilled to hear a lot of community members got the chance to finally hear about us, soon to be new members of the Harte Trail. More info here on becoming a member.

As a member, your donation goes towards future events, tree plants, trail maintenance and all the money goes right back into the Trail.

Stay tuned for our next Tree Giveaway!

Volunteers hold tree giveaway (Free Press)

City of Winnipeg ReLeaf Program

How to register your new tree for the Million Tree Challenge

Spring Clean Up 2020

this year a few things are different, we had the trail plowed regularly this past winter, giving us a wide space to enjoy walking/rolling/biking during the colder months which historically was difficult to traverse in general, let alone look forward to. 
With that we have seen an increase in traffic and now trash in the Spring. Although there are quite a bit more cans, bags and other items than recent years, we rely on volunteers to clean up, and this year is no different. 
Our board has been out to certain portions of the trail on more than a few occasions, to collect, but we need your help!
With physical isolation rules in place, its not possible for us to get together like we typically do and go clean the trail we love, so we will relay on all our members to assist over the next few weeks.

what can you do?

safety message.

1. Please wear gloves, and if you have, use a poker or grabbers. Anything your not comfortable picking up? don't. 

2. Please respect the physical distancing parameters 

3. Please watch your footing, be aware of your surroundings, holes, low branches and sharp objects. if your going on and off the Trail also watch for others enjoying the trail. be aware.

Nothing out of the ordinary, when your about to head out in the next few weeks to enjoy the Trail like you normally do, bring provisions with you to gather some trash. If each one of us can generate just 1 bag, that's a win!
There are bins at every major intersection of the Harte Trail so once you have a full bag please leave it next to the closest bin. 

Any large items that you can't manage, like the couch debris on Municipal (that will be cleared shortly) please snap picture of what you find and include a screen shot of its location in Google or Apple Maps, send that over to info@hartetrail.com 

Some of you may have seen today's evening news on the topic, and have already reached out to help. We look forward to these stories and sharing our passion for the Trail, how our membership rises together to help our community, our environment, families and our City. 
 

share your clean up! send us a picture of your haul!

tell us your clean up story, see how many bags we can get? let us know which section of the Trail you helped with, how many bags got packed, how many fellow members you saw out here, please, you are our eyes and ears. 

Winnipeg Free Press "Harte Trail needs residents to clean it up" May 20, 2020

CTV Evening News "Charleswood residents notice trash piling up"

Be a Good Neighbor… Please Pick Up!

spent the morning today out on the Trail putting up our new signage from SRS Signs to help spread the reminder to clean up after your dog.

All major intersections on the Harte Trail have a set of stops signs and C channel, we have placed a 2 sided sign on the West side of each street.

Lots of folks getting outside, getting exercise, staying healthy and respecting social distancing rules. This increase in pedestrian traffic includes some of our neighbors with dogs, majority of which clean up after their pets, small portion do not, as we can all see now in the Spring melt. This small majority may not be aware of the $400 fine or the damage it causes environmentally, but I’m sure we can turn it around!

opportunity

There are another dozen opportunities along the trail to add more of these signs, to start:

1. on the East side of the major intersections, add a matching sign to new ones we installed today, . 2. then there are 5 more major pedestrian intersections on Harte Trail to help increase awareness.

3 Good News Stories from The Harte Trail

Good News Story #1. a good deal.

A few generations ago, when our country came calling, some were sent overseas to kill and die, others sent to factories to work, asked to give away their household goods, mothers asked to give away sons.

We have been asked to stay home, and watch Netflix. boom. good news #1. okay that was morbid. it gets better keep reading.

Good News Story #2 we have the means

no, we don’t have anything for you relating to the recent and current situation our country and planet is working through together, no you can find a lot of that else-ware. in fact I’m not even going to reference it, we all know it, as we have all been getting emails from almost every organization on the planet we once gave our consent, letting us all know their plan for it. great! everyone’s on it, aware of it, and we are on the right path. so find that info from your trusted source, its not something we have here.

here we are going to make sure er’y ones ‘appy like they say in Newfoundland, its important. and now what a great way to slow down. look around. and focus on you and your loved ones, and maybe just yourself. the topic is mental health. we all need to relax, and what a great way to practice with all this goin round. wont be easy, but that’s not the point is it. not everyone has a 1 year old learning to talk, and can be there for every new word and sound. some folks don’t have a 4 year old to do cool STEM games and projects with, build forts and trick mum into smellin the air after we fart. no for some social isolation is much more difficult, keep them in mind.

the point is staying healthy, fit and aware. this means something different for everyone, but we can all get out and move, and to follow the rules and guidelines given to us, we need to keep our distance from each other. your street, trail, sidewalk, backyard, whatever works best for you.

our Harte Trail is seeing a lot more traffic these days ,with folks being polite, saying hello, and respecting everyone’s space. Because of the great work @ the City our Trail has been plowed, and continues to be plowed all through this situation, so we have a wide, 9-10’ Trail for everyone to take advantage of. now safety first, if your not aware of these guidelines, find them from your trusted source, and yes its serious. safety first: some parts of the Trail are not wide, please make way for others if your able there are side trails and spots to move aside and let others pass. a friendly hello is a massive weapon against this issue, especially for folks home alone with no one to share their thoughts with.

another good news story, Microsoft Teams is now available for all for free a great way to connect with multiple people, on video if you choose, share your screen and content, or just have a chat. for some non-profits like us @ the Harte Trail, our upcoming Board Meeting next week will be done over Teams. We are talking about our Spring Tree Plant, our 5 Year Strategic Plan, and will release our membership numbers for the first time even for us! We have seen a huge jump in membership with our Manitoba 150 Campaign cant wait to see the totals.

Good News Story #3, #supportlocal

a lot of the folks using the Trail have reached out recently with a concern on dog poo, like dog poo everywhere. as the City has made a great step in plowing for us, there is more of us walking, and more pups around the trail. some folks aren’t aware of the problems they create not picking up after their dogs, the $400 fine is honestly not worth it, but possible they just aren’t aware of it, or maybe don’t have the means to physically do it? either way what can we do as a Trail group to help, communication has always been part of our mandate, and what a great opportunity to do so! Our friends @ SRS Signs an amazing locally owned and operated group here in Winnipeg, through ALL of this, generously provided some signage for us to help spread the word for an issue that really isn’t part of the current narrative. so friends, another chance to understand the importance, now more than ever, to support your local businesses through this adventure together

Jogging in -40 and the "Broken Window Theory"

its amazing the resiliency of Canadians especially Winnipeggers, to brave the cold. But to us really, has it anything to do with bravery? we are just used to it, and we dress the part.

West of Harstone

there are always folks on our Trail in the Winter months, year round its used. But this year especially we have seen a drastic increase in the traffic on the trail. You may have noticed the its now being maintained, plowed and sanded, more than it ever has in the last 20 years. Its as wide as the non-winter months, and with almost as much traffic. we have seen a huge increase in folks out there, joggers and walkers, more importantly families with small ones, who will grow to love and appreciate the trail. one of the big wins, we are now seeing some people that aren’t 100% mobile, or don’t have the full use of their legs, with the trail now flat, wide and sanded, someone in wheelchair can take advantage of the fresh air, wildlife, and calming quiet our trail offers. so no, -40 wasnt slowing us Winnipeggers down, give us an open trail and we come out in droves.

A big reason for this, the City has focused on trails and active spaces this year, its important our citizens get out, get moving in anyway they can, and enjoy the natural spaces Winnipeg has to offer. There was a lot of work going into this, and will be to continue it in the future. If you are taking advantage keep Councilor Klein in the loop on how much you enjoy these new changes and how much you enjoy the winter trail. He can share with the support team that make things happen.

broken window theory

lots of folks have been asking me how they can help, there are a lot of ways, but honestly the easiest is pick up trash where you see it, I’m a strong believer in the “broken window theory” if we all helped out with just a few items each day, there are trash bins @ every major intersection, it would make a massive difference. and if you agree with that theory, then you’d know its not the fact that its just one piece of rubbish your picking up, what difference can I make, there are hundreds hundreds more, but its about changing the culture on the trail, about changing how its viewed. this isn’t a place we throw our trash this is a park. its a more sustainable fix and it helps us all take pride in our Trail. As it is YOUR trail, and mine, we are Winnipeggers, we pay our taxes its for all of us to enjoy, we should think more about these things in the material world we live in. as Winnipeggers and as Canadians we already have so much we just don’t appreciate it.

that brings us to the last point, let us know by clicking below, what you see out there that might need some attention. snap a pic and a location. we’d love to help, as a volunteer board we are always using Trail, but not every member gets out to every part of the trail. you are our eyes and ears!

Contact Us

Help Celebrate Manitoba's 150th Birthday! Become a Member Today

in honour of the Province of Manitoba’s 150th birthday our 2020 GOAL is for over 150 members! 

The Harte Trail membership base is the most important part, the heart of what we do, anyone can be a member, and it involves very little from you, that provides a huge benefit to our community and wildlife.

Look its dialed in, for those who are passionate about climate, conservation and community, a 5 min commitment from your day, give us your $15, that’s it, you’ve hit all 3 of those in one shot, we are so appreciative and we will make the most of it! thank you members.

President, Harte Trail, Philip Jenkinson

how it works

that will bring you to our membership form, very simple. once the completed form is submitted it notifies our membership team. the $15 annual fee can be paid by cheque, or via e-transfer, easy. that’s it your done. if you’d like to stay informed on our email list you can.

90 Harte Trail members and over 25,000 residents of Charleswood………

why its important

our current membership base funds all our initiatives and 5 year strategic plan. for starters, each year we employee the Green Team folks to maintain our trail, although the City reimburses, the membership must front the cash, so the Green Team gets paid every 2 weeks, without that we would not have the ability to keep them employed and providing ever important maintenance during our short summers for our trail.

From there we need funding to accomplish our 5 year strategic plan, this will be finalized during a vote @ our first 2020 meeting. But grants and private or government funding typically requires matching, or fronting $$. There are a ton of great programs but each typically requires some $$ in the bank before you can go anywhere, this is our membership base.

Wildlife Awareness

snow and cold weather never slow down Charleswood residents from enjoying the Trail. Bikes, joggers, walkers, everyone’s still out there. Like they say in Norway,

“There’s no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing”

— Norwegian proverb

Most of us will notice increased activity from the White-tailed Deer that live in our area, this time of year its best to be aware of your surroundings while your on the trail. During “the rut” the animals can act unexpectedly.

.don’t feed animals white bread.

white bread-bad deadly handouts

you will see this a ton in our city & provincial parks. a lot of folks not aware of wildlife, or who don’t spend a lot of time around them, hand out chunks of white bread to water fowl and geese, deer, or whatever is around them to get more of the animals attention. this is not something we should be doing on many levels, its dangerous to us, especially around kids, Canada Geese are huge, and can easily take an adult down. Feeding deer creates a bad habit, in an already very populated habitat for them, in creating even more danger on Roblin, Grant and our side streets.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/geese-ducks-don-t-feed-bread-1.5115103

dress warm stay safe out there. -Phil

Semi-Annual Tree Plant with Tree Canada, CN, and City of Winnipeg

Sept 28, 2019, Beautiful Saturday morning to plant trees!

Thanks to all the volunteers that came out to help plant 100 trees, the most we have ever done. Great turn out, many faces, neighbours of all ages came to hang out and do something amazing for the community, the city and the planet right here in our backyard.

media

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Winnipeg Sun, Legacy Forest Tree Canada Marks CN’s 100 Years

Winnipeg Free Press article

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photos

https://ohdoughnuts.com

Help Us Keep the Harte Trail Clean

Fall again! and time for our regular Fall Clean up. The Friends of the Harte Trail meet October 19 at various locations and walk the trail to clean up. But you dont need to wait until then to help, anytime your walking the trail, grab what you see and bin it, most intersections have a garbage can. If you see anything dangerous please let us know! (info@hartetrail.com) and we can get the City to help.

We also work with local developers to help get ahead of job site trash. its a huge challenge to manage, and keep in mind most contractors are aware and do their best to keep things contained, but keep the Friends aware of anything that might need attention. For organizations like Adams, its a big focus https://scotswoodmeadows.ca/

“its a huge deal for us to keep our development clean, I regularly communicate to my team their responsibilities on their job sites, I’m out there myself a lot loading my truck with stuff, especially close to the Harte Trail, the wind tends to get it back there, ”

— Adam Sharfe Vice President of Operations Seekville Inc