Rushbrook Trail receives its annual spring spruce up

Volunteers were out in numbers on Saturday, June 15 for the Spring Spruce Up.

Rushbrook Trail was the stretch receiving a makeover, as people picked up garbage and performed maintenance work on the path.

The trail reopened just under a year ago after being closed since 2001 due to a rock fall. The kilometre long trail features six catchment walls and three bridges, and finally provides ease of access to much of the city’s waterfront.

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But there is still plenty of work to be done on the trail. Hans Seidemann, treasurer of the Kaien Island Trail Society, spent his morning on the path performing maintenance work with fellow volunteers. He explained what kind of touch ups the trail still required.

“What we’re doing a lot of today is is general maintenance; clipping of branches that are overhanging the trails, rebuilding some barren sections where the gravel started to work its way off the trail, and putting in barriers to hold the trail surface together and make sure that it’s still safe and safe and secure to walk on,” said Seidemann.

Seidemann was pleasantly surprised at the minor amount of garbage the cleanup crew found along the way. He praised the efforts of a regular group of volunteers who pick up garbage and empty trash cans on the trail. But he added that the public are ultimately responsible for preserving the space.

“Food and drink containers are the big things people bring on the trail with them, and can’t seem to be bothered to make it to the other end to use the bins,” Seidemann said. “This is a trail that everyone uses, and we want to keep it nice for everyone.”

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Lucy Pribas is a first time volunteer, and explained why she came out for the spruce up.

“I thought it would be a good thing to do. I like to use the trails, so might as well use some muscle and keep them maintained,” said Pribas.

Pribas was happy with how the day’s efforts went. “There wasn’t that much garbage, which is really nice to see,” she said. “People walking the trail have been super nice and thanking you. They appreciate it,” added Pribas.

Seidemann added to keep an eye out for the Kaien Island Trail Society on paths around town in the months ahead.

“This is the first one of these higher profile, trail maintenance projects that we’re doing, but we’re organizing another one for next month,” said Seidemann. “We’re hoping to make it a regular thing for the summers going forward.”