NEWMARKET – The Regional Municipality of York’s Natural Heritage and Forestry Services branch will play host to a Spring Forest Festival on Saturday, April 18th at the Eldred King Tract in the Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville. This event is part of the 2009 Take a Walk in the Forest initiative, the 2009 Earth Week celebration and Sustainable Works!

Welcome spring by exploring the wild side of the York Regional Forest with plenty of fun and education for the whole family. Recreational activities include:

• Horse-drawn wagon rides through the Regional Forest
• Tree planting to help reach our goal of 25 per cent forest cover
• Listening to live music from Cosima throughout the festival
• Receiving a tree seedling from our “Greening Guy”
• Looking for frog eggs and salamanders with an ecologist
• Experiencing nature on guided hikes at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
• Learning about forest management with a modern logging demo

When: Saturday, April 18th
10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Where: York Regional Forest, Eldred King Tract
16232 Highway 48 (just south of Vivian Road)
Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville

Admission: Free

Background:

• Throughout the summer, members of the public can come out and explore the natural air conditioning of the 2,200 hectares (5,500 acres) of York Regional Forest on 20 different tracts (properties) across the Region.

• This Forest Festival is one of 12 free, family-friendly events hosted by York Region’s Natural Heritage and Forestry Services branch. These events take place each month.

• April and May are Sustainable Works! months in The Regional Municipality of York. Sustainable Works! Public Works partnering with our communities is a new annual campaign promoting the role of York Region Public Works in environmental sustainability through a series of community activities and events.

For more information on the York Regional Forest and upcoming forest events, please visit York Region’s website www.york.ca , our tourism site www.yorktourism.com  or please call 1-877-464-9675 Ext. 5256.