Municipality of Bluewater Receives $125,700 Grant From The Ontario Trillium Foundation To Help Support Recreation In The Municipality

by Bob Montgomery

Huron-Bruce MPP Lisa Thompson met with Bluewater Mayor Paul Klopp and staff last Sunday to present a cheque for $125,700 from the Ontario Trillium Foundation to help support recreation in the municipality.

That money was used to hire a recreation coordinator to develop programming, fundraising and volunteer management plans and increase community access to health, mental well-being, recreation and fitness activities. Denver Boertien was hired as the recreation coordinator. She will be following the recreation plan that was created in 2022. Part of her goal is to see the Bluewater recreational facilities used more often and she's hoping to do that by encouraging activities like pickleball, badminton, zoomba and yoga as well as different activities for youth on PA days and during March Break. She says some of the activities like pickleball and badminton are more likely to attract seniors who use the facilities during the day when younger people are in school, so that's very effective in increasing the use of the facilities.

Boertien says the feedback she's getting is that the facilities are being used a lot more than they had been in the past, so that's what she was hoping for. The added bonus is the facilities provide young people with more things to do when they're not in school and it gives seniors more opportunities to be active while the younger people are in school.

Photo left to right: Denver Boertien (Bluewater Recreation Coordinator), Maggie Off (Manager of Facilities), MPP Lisa Thompson, Mayor of Bluewater Paul Klopp, Councillor - Stanley East Peter Walden, Ralph Bast (Bayfield River Valley Trail Association), Sinnan Halton (Huron Area Search and Rescue). 

Photo courtesy of Municipality of Bluewater