The Ontario Horticultural Association (OHA) selected the Haliburton County Master Gardeners (HCMG) as recipients of its 2024 Environment Award.
The Master Gardeners have been recognized for their contribution in the advancement of horticulture with the development and launch of the Stepping into Nature multimedia walking tour along the Minden Riverwalk trail. The award was announced at the OHA annual general meeting convention in Guelph July 13.
Carolyn Langdon, coordinator for the HCMG, said, “the Stepping into Nature self-guided tour extolls the benefits of a natural landscape along a previously degraded section of river in the village of Minden and is a valuable addition to this popular walking trail. It was a very ambitious project for a small group of volunteers so we are particularly honoured by the attention and the award from the OHA.”
Master Gardeners Merryn Camphausen and Langdon travelled to Guelph to accept the award.
“Stepping into Nature is a free, self-guided walking tour of the remarkable flora and fauna along the Minden Riverwalk trail,” said project lead, Shelley Fellows. “It was an ambitious project including 21 site signs, photos, detailed descriptions of plants, insect information and gardening tips, along with audio stories.” Everything is accessible via a smartphone app called PocketSights and through QR codes on signage throughout the walking tour.
A combination of practical recommendations to address common landscape problems and field research to understand the flowering plants, shrubs, trees and grasses growing along the riverwalk, the Stepping into Nature walking tour was supported by a Local Initiatives Program grant from the Haliburton County Development Corporation. Insect research, including field collections, were performed by a U-Links team, headed by Caleb Brown from Trent University.
The HCMG is a community service organization. Members are certified Master Gardeners, with expertise in horticulture, botany and gardening in harmony with nature. They are celebrating 22 years in the Haliburton Highlands. They have visited more than 60 properties throughout Haliburton County in the last three years to advise property owners on how best to naturalize their properties. Their website contains helpful resources, and they recently published a “Guidebook to Ecological Landscaping in the Highlands”.
