Category: Podcast

Fran Cutler and The Sound of Trails

1/7/2019

Fran Cutler’s family has an attachment to the Wakefield area that goes back almost one hundred years. Like many of us, Fran considers Wakefield one of her “favourite villages in the whole world!”.

As a CBC employee for close to 30 years, her cottage on the Gatineau River in the Larrimac area and the surrounding Gatineau Hills always provided a respite from the demands of work.

Kerry Hodgins, Trail Adventurer

26/6/2019

Kerry is one of those people who has fabricated a life for herself that has work and play co-existing in a beautiful symbiotic balance. She and her partner have lived in the Wakefield area for a number of years – their home nestled between the Gatineau River and the surrounding hills. Kerry is an instructional designer, and mostly works from home, which works perfectly well for her, as she finds her best thinking is done out in nature – either on the river or on the trails.

Nick Appleby, Constructeur de ponts

24/6/2019

Not that we’re giving his age away, but Nick remembers the days of his youth when there were no computers, and kids like him mostly spent all of their time outdoors. He still makes a point of getting out into the forest – both on and off the trails. Which might be the reason why he joined the SWT team a few years back. Since then, Nick has been a very valuable contributor to the group.

Liz Robertson, Trail Traveller

20/6/2019

Liz Robertson, also known in the Wakefield area as Pip, spends plenty of time on the trails. Originally from New Zealand, she now calls Wakefield home. As a fitness instructor, she often uses the trails for boot camps and even incorporates trail work into the workouts!

Colin Bunge, Trail Teacher

17/6/2019

Colin Bunge has been seeking adventures for quite some time. And he turned that passion into a career – teaching outdoor ed and running outdoor adventure programs for youth in the Western Quebec area.

“A few times a week, we’re out…on the trails and its just incredible to share these experiences,

Bodi Delgrosse and the Trails of Life

14/6/2019

Bodi Delgrosse would choose a forest over a desk any day so it was a definite yes when his college classmate, Adrian Vaillancourt, asked him, in the spring of 2018, if he wanted a summer job working on the Wakefield trails.

“I first got connected working in Wakefield Trails at a school in Aylmer, a welding school. I met a man named Adrian. He asked me if I wanted a job this summer and I said ‘Ya, sure!’.

Ken Bouchard, Old Fart Trail Champion

11/6/2019

Ken Bouchard heard the call of the wild at the age of 5. His mother would rent a small chalet in the Gatineau Hills every winter and together they would explore the trails on skis. Some 70 years later, trails are still a big part of Ken’s life.

“When I was in high school I became a member of a group affiliated with the Ottawa Ski Club called the Trail Riders, maintaining the trails, building new bridges…

Joan Garnett, Trail Pioneer

7/6/2019

If you live in Wakefield, there’s a good chance you know Joan Garnett or at least, you’ve probably heard her name. Joan and her partner Norma, who passed away in 2011, moved to the area in 1967. Back then, trails were what you made when you walked thru the woods with your dog, following the call of the birds.

Julien Loiselle, Trail Explorer

4/6/2019

Is there anything better than sharing in the enthusiasm of a child as they discover the world around them? 6 year-old Julien Loiselle takes us on a Wakefield trail tour and talks about the importance of getting out into nature and the thrill of spotting a ground hog. Or maybe it was an otter? Or muskrat? Does it matter?

Phoebe Miles, Trail Runner

1/6/2019

Phoebe Miles took up running in 2010 and she just kept going . The Wakefield Trails are a big party of that story. Here are some excerpts from our conversation with her.

“I am a runner. I started when my son wanted to run that first Wakefield covered bridge run in 2010, and I had never run a race before.

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