Discovery Daypack Program launches June 1 in celebration of Parks & Trails Day NB

Your New Brunswick library card is now a key to outdoor adventures! Four Discovery Daypacks will soon be available to borrow from the Riverview Public Library.  

A public launch and workshop will be held at the Riverview Public Library (34 Honour House Court) on Friday, June 1 at 11 a.m. to unveil New Brunswick’s first daypack lending program as we celebrate Parks & Trails Day NB (June 2). The service is provided by the Riverview Public Library in partnership with the Fundy Biosphere Reserve and the Town of Riverview.

This new lending service will equip individuals and groups with essential hiking tools, maps for local parks and trails, guides to help you identify birds, trees and bugs, plus outdoor activity ideas to foster positive interactions with nature and the great outdoors. The daypacks are designed to help break down socioeconomic barriers, foster a sense of place and belonging (i.e. geography, history and natural area) and provide a support to existing outdoor programming within the Fundy Biosphere Reserve.

Following the launch, a brief workshop will be held outdoors for participants to learn how to use a ferro rod (an emergency tool to start fires and one of the essential hiking items found in each daypack). A limited number of ferro rods will be given away as prizes for participants to take home.

The Fundy Biosphere Reserve will serve locally-sourced refreshments and snacks. To respect the conservation principle “Leave no trace,” guests are asked to bring their own mugs. Remember to dress for the weather - there is no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing.

Library card holders can visit the Riverview Public Library to borrow a daypack for up to 7 days. Registration for a library card is free of charge for anyone not yet a member.

Partners who have contributed to the contents of the four daypacks include:

• Riverview Public Library
• Fundy Biosphere Reserve
• Town of Riverview
• NB Trails
• Fundy Hiking Trails Association
• The Fundy Guild
• Royal Astronomical Society of Canada 
• Parks Canada
• Parks New Brunswick
• Ocean Trail Source for Adventure
• Tri-Country Ground Search & Rescue
• Cache Up NB
• Orienteering NB
• HEPAC (Healthy Eating and Physical Activity Coalition)
• La Bikery
• Leave No Trace Canada
• Recreation New Brunswick
• Friends of Mill Creek Nature Park

Want to start a daypack of your own? Visit Active Riverview on Facebook for a chance to win an Osprey daypack just in time for Parks & Trails Day NB! The draw takes place on Saturday, June 2.