Bertram William Lowe   (1916 -  June 14, 2009)

Bert Lowe was the President of the Peninsula Field Naturalists Club in 1961 when he was asked to form a committee to develop a trail along the Niagara Peninsula from Queenston to Grimsby.  He formed the Niagara Escarpment Council, and began to speak to landowners along the route for permissions to have the trail cross their land.  The first trail section began at the Bucknall farm in Beamsville in March 1962.  By October, 1963, the hiking trail was completed at a cost of just $127 for the committee, although volunteers put in an estimated 1600 hours of labour.  An official opening ceremony took place at Queenston on May 24, 1964 to commemorate the achievement.  This was the first section of the Bruce Trail to have been completed, and was done almost entirely independently of the Bruce Trail Association (BTA).

In 1962, the Council was contacted by the Bruce Trail Association (BTA) to consider joining the organization, but the Niagara group was not satisfied with some of the BTA bylaws and did not merge with the BTA until November 1968, at which time the Niagara Bruce Trail Club was formed. On that occasion, Norman Pearson, the first president of the BTA was quoted as saying that the Bruce Trail would never have gotten off the ground had not Bert Lowe completed the Niagara Trail.

The Niagara Bruce Trail Club has recognized Bert Lowe's contribution by renaming The St. Catharines Side Trail, which had been part of the original Escarpment Trail, to the Bert Lowe Side Trail. Bert was also honoured at the annual meeting of The BTA held in St. Catharines in September 2004.

{Information for this article was sourced from https://niagarabrucetrail.club/about-beginnings/; and https://www.mesaieux.com/Obituary/Bertram-William-LOWE/637432}

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Land Acknowledgement

The Bruce Trail Conservancy wishes to acknowledge and honour the lands of the Niagara Escarpment as the traditional territory of Indigenous peoples. In both spirit and partnership, we recognize and thank the Anishinaabek, Huron-Wendat, Tionontati, Neutral Nation, Haudenosaunee, Métis, and all who provided stewardship of these lands over millennia.

Recognition of the contributions of Indigenous peoples is consistent with our commitment to making the promise of Truth and Reconciliation real in our communities. We are grateful for the opportunity to live, work, and play here and thank all those who have served and continue to serve as caretakers of this special place.

We are also mindful of broken covenants and the need to reconcile with all our allies and relations. Together, may we care for this land and each other, drawing upon the strength of our mutual history through peace and friendship, to create a lasting legacy of conservation for generations to come.