For at least the past four years, Team RBC has contributed labour and cash to the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority’s Scanlon Creek Conservation Area.
RBC has given a $1,000 grant toward the support of the conservation lands, located off Line 9 north of Bradford, and a team of volunteers — this year from as far away as Richmond Hill and Whitby — have enthusiastically helped rebuild trails and carry out other chores.
This year’s team was the biggest yet, with 42 volunteers donning gloves and bug spray, to help out for three hours — more than 120 volunteer hours contributed.
“You’re in the community, and you’re doing something different,” said Team RBC organizer Wayne Brakeboer, RBC’s community manager for the area.
He compared Scanlon to some of the park areas that give world-class cities like Amsterdam and London their character.
“You just see the commitment to public space — and this (Scanlon) is a meaningful public space,” Brakeboer said.
It is not only a recreational facility within easy access of residents, but an area dedicated to environmental protection and preservation, he said.
The volunteers repaired log steps on the Chickadee trail, spread wood chips, helped to create a shade shelter, installed slab benches, and spruced up the Arboretum — and, “when all the work is done and the sweat is given,” sat down to a pizza picnic lunch in the woods.
