ESSA TWP. — The Utopia Conservation Area is now officially open to visitors.
With accessible hiking trails, a historic grist mill and the only washrooms currently available at a local conservation area, officials expect the updated site, west of Barrie, will quickly become a destination of choice.
“We’re here for a moment and we have to pass it on,” Susan Antler, chair of the Friends of Utopia Mill and Park, said on Friday.
While the group — which worked with the Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority (NVCA) and Essa Township and other local organizations and politicians as well as granting partners — celebrated the area’s “facelift,” Antler said the celebration was also a recognition for more to be done.
The work on the property, located between Barrie and Angus, was done to recognize the natural heritage, said Antler.
After the widespread recognition of the importance of the outdoors highlighted during the pandemic, Collingwood town councillor and NVCA chairperson Mariane McLeod said its opening comes at the right time.
The area’s trails have been built with gravel and are marked with interpretive signs.
The accessible washrooms are made from recycled material and don’t require power, bulking agents or mixing and were hailed as the first of their kind in Ontario.
The years of planning and work that went into the revitalization of the 52-year-old conservation area highlights what can be accomplished, added Essa Township Mayor Sandie Macdonald, who awarded Antler with a series of certificates, including a volunteer award.
“Together we can change the world,” Macdonald said.
“I’ve never been to an opening with a goat before,” said Simcoe-Grey MP Terry Dowdall.
The goat represented a new feature for the area. The nearby Lucy’s Farm Zoo is providing goats, which will be available for some hikes.
Other features include a live-stake nursery which will help the NVCA’s restoration projects.
The century-old gristmill, Essa Township’s only historically designated property, was also the focus of some stabilizing work.
