As I step into the role of International Chair, I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself to all of our members who I may not have met yet within the World Trails Network.

My experience in trails has spanned many years. Located in Ontario, Canada, I have been employed by the Bruce Trail Conservancy since 2002, and I have been hiking my entire life. As a young child in England, we explored many of the walking paths that were freely accessible, and after we moved to Canada, my family continued to hike, especially along the Bruce Trail, exploring all that the trails had to offer in our new country.

I was honored to be invited to attend the very first World Trails Conference, held on Jeju Island in 2010, hosted by the Jeju Olle Trail. At that very first conference, the idea of creating a network of trails was raised. It took two further conferences for that idea to become realized. In 2012, following the vision of Ms Suh Myung-suk, the World Trails Network was formed. I, along with others, was at that initial formation of the network. I am now incredibly grateful to have the opportunity to serve the Network as its Chair.

During the pandemic, trails have been a way for people to come together, explore, rejuvenate, reassess and just be. I would like to take the lessons that we have learned over the last few years and apply them to the World Trails Network.

As we look back at the last 10 years as a Network, we have come far, but there are still places to explore, places to reassess, places to rejuvenate, and definitely places to come together.

This past World Trails Conference showed us the importance of coming together as trail organizations, trail professionals, and trail advocates. The opportunity to connect and learn from each other is an invaluable resource that the World Trails Network can provide.

I look forward to the future of the World Trails Network together with all of you.

With gratitude,

Jackie

International Chair – World Trails Network