Media Release January 27, 2010
AUDETTE FOUNDATION IMPROVES ACCESSIBILITY
AT LOCAL CONSERVATION AREAS
Thanks to a generous donation from the Audette Foundation, the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority is poised to improve visitor services at several conservation areas this spring. RVCA intends to offer its natural environment parks to a larger, more diverse audience including visitors with mobility restrictions. This phase of improvements includes implementation of a handicapped parking program and the construction of a new ‘mobility trail’ at the Baxter Conservation Area south of Kars.
RVCA owns and operates nine developed public parks between the City of Ottawa and Crow Lake in the headwaters area of the Rideau River in the beautiful Township of Central Frontenac. As much as possible all outdoor recreation facilities - walking/hiking trails, snowshoeing and cross country skiing trails, beaches, boat and canoe launches, fishing and picnic facilities – will eventually be accessible by all residents and visitors to the Rideau watershed.
Almost two million people in Ontario have a disability. That’s approximately one in six people. Over the next 10 to 20 years, people with disabilities will make up about 20-25% of Canada’s recreational markets. Thanks to help from our “Partners in Conservation” like the Audette Foundation, RVCA is preparing to meet their needs.
The Audette Foundation was established in 1996 to support charitable causes in British Columbia and Ottawa, Ontario. Their principal interest is supporting projects involving physically disabled people.
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More information:
Kristy Giles, Conservation Lands Planner
Rideau Valley Conservation Authority
613-692-3571 or 1-800-267-3504 ext 1178