The Bruce Trail Conservancy (BTC) manages thousands of hectares of Escarpment land. The BTC Land Stewardship Program was implemented in order to effectively care for this significant land and is the largest program of its kind run by a non-government organization in Ontario's history.

The Niagara Bruce Trail Club is an active participant in the Program. One Volunteer Land Stewardship Director and 15 Volunteer Land Stewards manage 21 properties in Niagara covering 214.4 acres. Each property has a property management plan that has been prepared by the BTC ecologists.  Land Stewards help to implement the recommendations of these property plans (e.g. cleanup projects, reforestation, deal with encroachment issues).

Unlike trail captains who monitor conditions on the trail itself, Land Stewards look after entire properties. They visit twice a year (spring and fall), and complete annual reports on the conditions of their assigned properties. Topics covered are the existence of appropriate property boundaries, any intrusions such as littering and vandalism, any potential safety hazards, existence of appropriate signage indicating that the property is managed by the BTC, and any notable wildlife and vegetation observations such as species at risk or invasive species.

More information on the BTC Land Stewardship Program can be found here.

If you would like to volunteer to be a Niagara Land Steward, please contact Jessica Ranalli at nbtc4membership@gmail.com or click here to apply online.