Santa slims down

by Maciejka Gorzelnik

Santa Claus got his cardio workout Nov. 24 in Amherstburg when over 400 people dressed up in Santa gear for the fourth annual Essex Region Conservation Foundation Super Santa 4km Run/Walk.

The ERCF hosts the annual event as well as many other fundraising activities aimed at community involvement. This year the run raised $7,500 for the foundation. One of the main goals of the ERCF according to president Ken Schmidt is preserving the natural heritage of the region.

“Essentially what our foundation does is protect and restore natural areas and provide recreational opportunities associated with them,” said Schmidt. “In the context of this run, we do a lot of trail development work and will have more trails here in the Essex region and better trails. It’s because we’re so flat and because our climate is so perfect that that’s a great activity funded by our foundation.”

This year’s run was held in conjunction with Amherstburg’s Santa Claus Parade as well as the River Lights Winter Festival. The festival is family-oriented and is put on by a committee of 14 volunteers. According to Karen Gyorgy, River Lights administrator, approximately 130 LED light displays are erected across Toddy Jones Park and the Navy Yard Park and sculptures made by art students from St. Thomas of Villanova Catholic Secondary School.

“We transform the summer outdoor pavilion into a gingerbread warming house,” said Gyorgy. “The inside is just magical with large lollipops and snowflakes.”

River Lights and the Santa Run have been progressively growing in numbers since their onset. Schmidt said participation increases every year bringing entire families and even dogs to the event. First time Santa runner Jordynne Ropat said this is something she’ll definitely participate in yearly.

“My mom had told me about it because my aunt had done it before,” said Ropat. “I thought it would be a lot of fun. I like dressing up and of course, Santa is a fun character to dress up as. And I like to run so why not?”

In order to continue with events like this and keep moving them forward, the ERCF and organizations like it are striving to increase public awareness of the link between the environment and the economy.

“If we want to make this region more attractive for people to live, to visit and to invest, we have to continue to improve our natural environment and that’s what we’re doing,” said Schmidt. “We’re making it greener, cleaner and more enjoyable for future generations.”

Santa will surely appreciate cleaner air and a safe place to land his sleigh.

 

River Lights will continue until Jan. 1. For more information about the various holiday events, visit riverlights.ca.