Nature Conservancy of Canada and Lincoln Elementary build trail

Community volunteers joined with the Nature Conservancy of Canada to help build a trail in the Fredericton area on Saturday.

The NCC and the Lincoln Elementary Community School are working together to develop the property behind the school.

New Brunswick stewardship coordinator Jennifer White says the school has made it a priority to reconnect the children with nature.

"As a school, they decided that trying to have the children more involved in environmental issues and learning about nature is very important, and it's something that the children are very interested in," she said.

The project is the first conservation volunteer event for NCC in the Fredericton area. Volunteers helped cut away trees and shrubs to create a rustic trail.

The group hopes to allow children to see different types of habitat along the St. John River.

NCC says the goal is to create an outdoor learning space and in future years White says events will be created to have the children directly involved.

"The idea is to have not only have elementary students from the school, but inviting students from other schools as well as seniors and community members who might want to use the trail and come out and learn about nature," she said.

Habitats along the trail include a freshwater marsh, riverside forest, and an old field.