I moved back to Ontario a…

I moved back to Ontario a year ago after a decade in British Columbia. During my time there, I observed a distinct difference in the attitudes towards rock climbing specifically and outdoor recreation in general by both provincial and municipal agencies. Climbing and outdoor recreation was embraced and supported through signage, trail infrastructure, public funding and permitted usage and I believe this can be possible in Ontario-specifically at Devil’s Glen.

Climbing and outdoor recreation more broadly has the capacity to provide marked physical and mental health benefits to users. Outdoor recreation also instills values of environmental stewardship amongst recreaters.

I believe Devil’s Glen is a jewel of eastern Canadian rock climbing and the park can exist as a site for a variety of users. The OAC can be utilized as an avenue for enforcing best practices amongst climbers and ensuring the park is maintained. Sport climbing is a safe sport that focuses its usage on parts of the cliff that are free of vegetation preserving our precious ancient trees along the UNESCO escarpment biosphere region. Our province already funds extensive paddling and hiking infrastructure in provincial parks and there is no reason climbing can’t be treated the same.

For examples of other public spaces used for hiking and climbing alongside natural preservation I’d encourage reaching out to the management of the Stawamus Chief Provincial Park and the Smoke Bluffs Park.