John Whitworth volunteer recognition page.
John Whitworth
Honouring 15 years of service on the PBTC Board of Directors. John’s positions include:
- Member-at-Large: 2008-09
- Hike Coordinator: 2009-11
- Representative to BTC Board: 2009-14, 2019- 25
- PBTC President: 2012-13 to 2013-14
- Past President: 2014-15 to 2019-20
- Land Securement Director: 2017-18 to Present
John first started volunteering with the PBTC Board when he became a member-at- large in 2008. In an article for the Rattler newsletter in 2018, he recalls that he first hiked the Bruce Trail in his university years. “I was an avid scuba diver. That’s what first brought me to the Bruce (despite the frigid waters). We hiked some of the Bruce Trail while we camped in the area.”
He recalls that though the scenery was spectacular, “the trail was, sadly, in very bad shape. This was in the 1970’s when the club was more or less dormant”.
So what finally brought him to volunteer for the PBTC? He recounts that, “I completed the end-to-end of the entire BT just before my 50th birthday. Then, having great appreciation for the good condition of the trail-and the volunteer work that had gone into it, I decided to give a bit back- starting with the Spruce up the Bruce.”
In the more than 15 years since that time, John has done far more than “given a bit back”!
After joining as member at large in 2008, he became hike coordinator and representative to the BTC board. Then in 2012 he became President for 2 years. Of those years, he stated that his proudest accomplishment as a club “are the positive relationships we developed with our Landowners (such as the Lillie family, the Peases, the Michiganders) which led to a series of property acquisitions.”
This fostering of relationships served well to lead him next into his role as Land Securement Director, a role which he continues to hold to this day. In an article he wrote for the Rattler in November 2018, he describes his role as Land Securement Director.
“The Land Securement role is two-fold: first as club appointee to the Bruce Trail Conservancy’s securement process; secondly, to progress the Peninsula’s portion of the BTC mission of securing a conservation corridor containing the Bruce Trail’s Optimum (practical) Route (OR).”
In the years that John has been Land Securement Director for the Peninsula Bruce Trail Club, there have been several large land securements, averaging 2-3 properties per year. At the PBTC AGM in May 2024, John highlighted that only 950 acres of a total 40,000 acres of the Peninsula conservation corridor remain to be secured. This is a remarkable achievement demonstrating the amazing commitment from the donor base and the Peninsula volunteers, in support of the BTC mission!
Some of the significant acquisitions over the last 7 years include:
Of course, every property that the trail crosses is important to the BTC’s vision of a secure conservation corridor.
John has also been active on other conservation fronts. In 2018 he proposed a project to plant 100 trees for the BTC’s 100th anniversary. In this proposal, every year, the PBTC would plant 1 or 2 native species (mostly hardwoods) nursery raised to a height of 6-8 ft. This initiative was to be differentiated from the reforestation work completed by BTC on some lands, where mass planting of seedlings is used. (see “Specimen Trees, 100 Trees for our 100th Anniversary”, Rattler, 2018) The first four trees, 10-12 foot Sugar Maples, were planted on the Bull Homestead and Vanishing Streams properties in November 2018.
In 2021 and 2022, he wrote a series of articles for the Rattler Newsletter titled, “Conservation Matters”, featuring stories of conservation successes and challenges with invasive species on the Peninsula.
Currently, John’s also serves on the PBTC Board as the Club Representative to the BTC. He describes his role as follows:
“Your duty on the BTC Board of Directors is to listen, learn, consider and ultimately vote on issues in the best interest of the BTC. Of course, one’s position is shaped in part by the issues & concerns expressed by the club members through its Board. There are opportunities to formally and informally raise or escalate matters that are of interest to the club. I think over the last 5 years, communications from BTC through the CEO, Board Chair and staff have greatly improved, leaving the club reps less need to directly intercede.”
Highlights of the 15 Years volunteering for PBTC?
“For me the highlight has to be our success in Land Securement. It started with the Barrow Bay Cliffs Nature Reserve – which resolved a real problem in our trail corridor. After this, came the opportunity to secure Cape Chin Nature Reserve -a chance in a lifetime to open 2.5km of main trail overlooking Georgian Bay on 523 acres of conservation land. The property was for sale – but at twice the cost of anything BTC had ever previously done – so it took time to carefully build support for this proposal. Of course, this didn’t happen in a vacuum – the Board’s commitment to ‘be bold’; staff vision & success in raising funds from more Conservation-minded donors. On a personal level, the many lasting friendships made with like-minded volunteers is important.”
Future Challenges?
“Overall, I think the club is in great shape. One challenge may be to recruit the next generation of volunteers – for the Board and for our important boots on the ground work.”
Awards:
2015 – Phillip Gosling award- John was part of the team from the Peninsula Club that received the Phillip Gosling award this year for the Snake Boardwalk Cape Croker Rebuild and Restoration. (Rattler 2015, Issue #3)
Part of the team members at work Week 1- 2014-05