Story hike set up on North Bay trail for families to read and enjoy

As part of the North Bay-Mattawa Conservation Authority's 50th anniversary, a number of partners have collaborated to create what's called a storybook hike along one of the city's trails.

After a short New Year's Eve hike, Mike and Katie Ward along with their three children: Ollie, Nora and Finley stumble upon the story called ‘That Chikadee Feeling.’Mike and Katie Ward along with their children began reading ‘That Chikadee Feeling’ after finding the framed story on the trail. (Eric Taschner/CTV News Northern Ontario)"It's something good in your life," said young Finley, while reading the story.

The story, written by Canadian author Frank Glew and illustrated by Marna Twins, is about the happy feeling a child gets when feeding a chikadee.

"The chickadee feeling is something more than landing on your hand," said Finley.

The book's pages are posted on 15 frames in both English and French and are spread along a fence in the McNutt Trail along the Laurentian Escarpment up by the Laurentian Ski Hill.

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"There are a few goals on this. One is to get outdoors for sure and also increase literacy and spending time together as a family," said North Bay-Mattawa Conservation Authority CAO, Chitra Gowda.

"We all know spending time in nature is a good thing."

The idea for a trail story hike came from several groups in the Community Oriented Outdoor Literacy group (COOL).

COOL is spearheaded by the North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit, Northern Ontario School of Medicine University, Schulich School of Education at Nipissing University, Near North District School Board, Les Compagnons des francs loisirs and the North Bay Mountain Bike Association with the support of the conversation authority.

"The story inspires kids to bring a handful of birdseed out when they're reading the story,” said Connie Hergott, a COOL comittee member.

“We hope that the chickadees will be trained when they see people gather here."

Hergott told CTV News she is hoping when school resumes in the new year, neighbouring Vincent Massey Public School staff will use the trail system to teach students about birds and create recyclable bird feeders.

"It just gives another element to come out and explore and adds another stop for parents when on a trail with young kids," said Mike Ward.

The story on the hike will be changed out in the different seasons.

COOL is hoping to create a few more story hikes on other trails in the near future for families to discover and read.

Mike and Katie Ward along with their three children: Ollie, Nora and Finley stumble upon the story called ‘That Chikadee Feeling’ while on a hike on Dec. 31/22. (Eric Taschner/CTV News Northern Ontario)