Buy-A-Board program seeing success at Upper Canada Migratory Bird Sanctuary

Volunteers south of Ottawa have been hard at work revamping an old boardwalk that's been closed for years, and they've come up with a unique way to raise funds for the project, where all of the donors will be highlighted.

Inside the Upper Canada Migratory Bird Sanctuary west of Cornwall, a construction project is underway.

"This was originally the Blue Heron Trail," Rick Blanchard tells CTV News. "This boardwalk has been closed for seven to eight years now because it was just getting unsafe."

Blanchard is a volunteer with a group called the Friends of the Sanctuary, who help support the parks operation along with the St. Lawrence Parks Commission.

"This boardwalk is to let us access a whole new bunch of trails, almost 18 kilometres of brand new trails," notes Blanchard. "It's closed off the whole area where we did have one trail out there years ago, but none of the public has been able to access it for years."

Revamping the old boardwalk is not cheap, especially when a not-for-profit volunteer group is leading the way.

"So far, we've got $12,000 worth of lumber right here," Blanchard said, pointing to the half-finished boardwalk.

The group started a "Buy-A-Board" program to help raise money from the public.

It's $20 for one name on one board or $30 for two names, one on each end of the board. The group says family names, like "John and Jane Doe" counts as one name. Numbers and special symbols are not available. 

"People will be able to walk and see their name and, in some cases, a memoriam for someone they've lost, and it really does make everyone feel good they were a part of it," Blanchard said.

Rick Blanchard, left, and John Lester branding boards for the Upper Canada Migratory Bird Sanctuary boardwalk. Patrons can donate to have their names branded on a board. (Nate Vandermeer/CTV News Ottawa)

The Upper Canada Migratory Bird Sanctuary covers more than 9,000 hectares along the St. Lawrence River, home to multiple native species of wildlife.

Officially opened in 1961, the volunteer group has been helping since 1994, offering recommendations and upgrades to the Commission yearly.

"We have owls, we have a nesting pair of bald eagles in the park, blue herons," said Friends of the Sanctuary President Ross Miller. "Quite a variety of birds that they can see, plus there is deer, raccoons, there's porcupines."

He calls it a hidden gem in eastern Ontario, free to explore, that not a lot of people know exist.

"This is a place for people to go and just get away from everything that's happening in the world, and Lord knows there's a lot going on in the world right now," Miller said.

People are invited to swing by, bring their own birdseed and feed the birds.

"You've got to go into the bush and see it," Miller said. "Any of the birders around here know if you want to see a bird and get a picture of it you've got to go look for it. It's not going to come to you.

"The only bird that's going to come to you are the chickadees because they know they get fed," he laughed.

A red-winged blackbird at the Upper Canada Migratory Bird Sanctuary. (Nate Vandermeer/CTV News Ottawa)

Miller noted that government funding for projects like the boardwalk replacement isn't always available, which is why the group lead they charge.

"If we can help, like we are doing now with the boardwalk, that's what we're here for," he said.

So far, hundreds of people have donated towards the project, raising almost $13,000. The permit to rebuild the boardway cost $800, which was donated by the Raisin Region Conservation Authority.

"We didn't expect that, we were very happy to see it," Blanchard said. "We still have to put railing on before we can open it to the public to make it safe so there's still a lot of money yet to go."

And all those names will soon be added to the boards already nailed down, in the weeks ahead.

"We'll be branding right here on site while some of the other volunteers are building at the end, it's not completed yet," he said.

"It takes about five minutes per board. When you're talking hundreds of boards, it's a lot of volunteer time," Blanchard laughed. "(Donors) will have to maybe visit several times or they will be walking looking down like that to find their name!"

A board is branded at the Upper Canada Migratory Bird Sanctuary. (Nate Vandermeer/CTV News Ottawa)

With National Volunteer Week just wrapping up, the group says they are always looking for more help to finish this project, and for upcoming ones.

"We are certainly appreciative of the public's support and we enjoy what we do as volunteers," Blanchard said. "Working here and volunteering, you get so many smiles and little pats on the back from families who say where else can you do something for free with your family?"

"You're out in nature, it gets the kids away from their iPads and phones for a while and it's a good positive interactions with nature and it's beautiful out here obviously," he added.

More information about the Friends of the Sanctuary, or to donate to the Buy-a-Board program, can be found on their website or Facebook page.