Story Trail combines love of reading and outdoors at Foley Mountain

RIDEAU LAKES – Book it to Foley Mountain Conservation Area this fall to catch its latest family feature: a permanent Story Trail near the Interpretive Centre.

Thanks to generous community funding with support from the Rideau Valley Conservation Foundation (RVCF), this new activity includes a series of permanent, weather-proof displays installed along the Jack Herbert Mobility Trail. Each stop displays a new page of the featured book so families can read along as they follow the 400-metre accessible path.

“We’re excited to bring so many of Foley Mountain’s core values into one project,” said site supervisor Rebecca Whitman, who helped unveil the new Story Trail on Sept. 22.

“Story Trails encourage literacy, getting outside and learning about nature in a really accessible way, and we’re thrilled that we’ve been able to make it permanent for all families to enjoy.”

Foley Mountain first installed a temporary Story Trail during the early days of the pandemic to help families get outside in the absence of formal programming. It was so popular, that staff began to look for ways to make it permanent. Thanks to generous support from the Lawson Foundation, Westport Lions Club, Friends of Foley Mountain and the RVCF, the dream has finally become a reality.

“We’re so grateful to have such supportive partners in the community,” Whitman said. “Our visitors benefit so much from their ongoing generosity.”

The current book is A Log’s Life by Wendy Pfeffer, which follows the fate of an oak tree that has fallen in a storm. As the giant log slowly returns to the soil, new life springs forth in its place.

“The Story Trail is a fantastic opportunity to introduce concepts that tie into what families are seeing around them in the forest,” Whitman said. “It really is just the perfect activity on so many levels.”

The featured book will be changed with the seasons and the trail will be open year-round.

Learn more about Foley Mountain and plan your visit: www.rvca.ca/conservation-areas/fee-required/foley-mountain-ca