Adopt-a-Trail volunteers celebrate with flag relay

An all-volunteer Canalway Trail group in Monroe County is making plans for celebration of a major achievement. A pilot Adopt-a-Trail program was started about three years ago in Fairport and Perinton, and now involves volunteers in Monroe County communities all along the Erie Canal.

The Adopt-a-Trail program is a partnership between local volunteers, the NYS Canal Corporation, Parks & Trails New York, and the Canalway Trails Association of New York.

Recently, three new Adopt-a-Trail groups signed up for the last available sections of the Canalway Trail in Monroe County. The entire 39-mile length of the Trail, from Perinton-Fairport to Sweden-Brockport, is now "adopted."

Thirty-three different civic, business, church, fraternal, youth, fitness and other organizations monitor and care for the trail on a monthly schedule from April through November. Perinton volunteer Dave Schaeffer is the regional coordinator for the program and is helping to organize a Canalway Trail Celebration on Saturday, June 5, to coincide with National Trails Day. The celebration will feature an Adopt-a-Trail Flag-Bearer Relay, similar to the traditional torch-bearer ceremony that will open the Summer 2004 Olympic Games. A team of volunteers from the Adopt-a-Trail groups will carry a flag along the Canalway Trail from each side of Monroe County. One relay team will start at the Orleans-Monroe county line, and another at the Wayne-Monroe county line. The east-bound relay team will include Adopt-a-Trail volunteers from the Brockport Federal Credit Union, First Presbyterian Church of Brockport, Brockport High School Girls Swim Team, History Club of Brockport, Garden Club of Brockport, Brockport Walk-and-Talks, Brockport Middle School Retirees, Coffee cup Campers. The Town of Ogden volunteers join in as well, covering the area from Sweden Walker Road to Manitou Road. Volunteers include Hi-Qual Heating & Cooling, Bleier Electric, Page Appliance, Village of Spencerport, Shops at Barefoot Landing and Nothnagle Realtors, according to community coordinator Denny Marra.

Each Adopt-a-Trail group will assign a cyclist, jogger, or in-line skater to carry the flag along their respective adopted section, then pass the flag to the next adopter representative. The anchor legs of the two teams will meet at Genesee Valley Park at the confluence of the Erie Canal and the Genesee River, where the Canalway Trail intersects with two other multi-use trails: the Genesee Valley Greenway and the Genesee Riverway Trail. The Adopt-a-Trail volunteers will be greeted and honored by City, County and State officials at 1 p.m. at the Genesee Waterways Center. The Adopt-a-Trail relay will highlight the community and regional conductivity of the Canalway Trail and the other land ('green') and water ('blue') trails in the greater Rochester area. It will demonstrate this year's theme for National Trails Day: "Trails and Health … a Natural Connection."

All activities will be open to the public. There are no admission or registration fees. Events are scheduled throughout the day, from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. Check in at the Genesee Waterways Center located on the west bank of the river, south of 131 Elmwood Avenue. Enter Genesee Valley Park next to the bus loop and swimming pool.

For information about the June 5 celebration, the schedule of events, or the Adopt-a-Trail program, contact Dave Schaeffer at d.schaeffer@prodigy.net, or telephone Terry McEntee at the City of Rochester Bureau of Parks and Recreation, (585) 428-6770.