Oxford Volunteers Pushed to the Brink

The unpaid senior citizens, Bunny Trail Stewards for over six years, are ready to call it quits following teen vandalism in Oxford.

Allie and Maxine Clarke are a regular sight on the streets of Oxford, covering more kilometres of road and trail in a day than most do in a week, or more. 

The couple, celebrated with Recreation Nova Scotia’s “Built Environment” Award last year, are reeling from yet another instance of vandalism on Oxford’s “Bunny Trail.”  

Interviewed on Morning Talk with host Bill Martin, Maxine says this is the fifth incident in the past six weeks.

Signs knocked down and destroyed. Bird feeders smashed. Walking sticks — donated by community members to assist walkers on the trail — broken and strewn along Water Street.

The four teens involved have been identified. At least one parent is aware of their son’s involvement, though the boy apparently denies being involved in the destruction. The parent stated on social media, "that is not how I raised him.”

The Clarkes say they don’t know the parents of the other boys, and don’t know if they’re aware of their children’s activities. 

They do wonder, though, what these kids were doing out in the community at 2:00 am, at sixteen years of age. They say they’ve heard “alcohol was involved.”  They wonder – who gave them the booze?

Asked whether they would make the perpetrators’ names public, or call in the police, the trail stewards were hesitant to go down that road. Allie says “We decided not to do that. We know that life is hard as it is. We didn’t want these kids to get in any more trouble… we’d like to get in contact with them and have a talk with them.”

Maxine adds, “We don’t want them going into life with a criminal record.”

For Allie, “It’s a fine line….  I’m of two minds. I’m still welcoming them on the trail, they’re part of the public. As long as they are kind with nature in mind, and not evil. They could come up with an apology… but sorry doesn’t fix anything. What they really need to do is contact us, and volunteer to come out and help us fix some of the things… make some of the things….  Use the trail, say you’re sorry, but come back to help us fix stuff up.”

The big question, though, for those who worry about the loss of two dedicated volunteers: Will they actually call it quits? 

Maxine says they’re stepping away for a time. But the trail calls to them. They’ll still walk the trail, regardless. 

This is the time of year when they usually go in and trim the trail back a few feet. But right now, “I think the only way I’d go back and do what needs to be done, is if these boys, and their parents, and their families, came in… and helped us do it.”

Maxine recalls encountering a local resident on the trail after the vandalism was discovered who stopped them to say, “I absolutely love this trail.”  She says, "I almost cried. I want to go in and work… on one hand you really want to do it, on the other, you say, ‘why bother?’”

"We’ll go in there… we have squirrels come and take peanuts out of our hands. We have one woodpecker in there that follows us around and waits for us to give it a peanut. How can you not love being there? It’s such a beautiful place to be, it’s so relaxing…. and then you have somebody come in and do this, and you walk through, and your heart goes right to your feet.”

The photo shows Maxine and Allie Clarke with the sign they donated to the Bunny Trail, a sign now destroyed by vandals.

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