Community life is complex and rich, and difficult to grasp in its entirety. We build our impressions of our community from the local newspapers, from our experiences, from conversations with neighbours and colleagues, or from the occasional report that highlights a particular issue. But, have you ever wondered how our community is fairing overall? And, when you hear about things that are not going well in our community do you ever wonder where we should invest our time and resources in order to make the biggest impact on our collective well being? These are the types of questions that communities across North America are asking themselves and answering with Quality of Life Report Cards.

Quality of Life Report Cards measure various aspects of community life by providing concrete information on a carefully chosen set of indicators. As mentioned earlier, community life is rich and complex and hard to grasp in its entirety. It would not be feasible to measure everything about community life as a way of understanding it. Luckily, we can get a fairly accurate understanding of the quality of our lives by measuring a selection of things we believe will give us the best overall impression of it.

By analyzing the indicators we choose and the data attached to those indicators, we can begin to see more clearly where different facets of community life are interrelated and impact each other. This is very useful information, especially when decision makers are trying to figure out where our priorities are for spending tax dollars, and where we can make significant impacts towards sustaining community vitality.

Quality of Life Report Cards become even more powerful when they are updated every one to two years. Over time, we can monitor shifts in the data we have collected. If we have chosen the right indicators, these shifts give us clues about the changes we can anticipate seeing in the future if we stay on our present course. It gives us a great "heads up" about what needs to be addressed in order to avoid major challenges to quality of life in the future. It speaks to that old adage: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

The quality of life report card initiative is based upon extensive consultation with the community and aligns with the vision and goals of Headwaters Communities in Action.

Our plan for completing a quality of life report card is based on best practices taken from other communities who have successfully undertaken this endeavor. Over a 12 - 18 month period, a volunteer working group will set in motion a work plan for determining and measuring indicators within 3 areas of focus: economic prosperity, community health, and environmental integrity. After the report card is published, we will work with the community to identify which issues are priorities, and set recommendations for taking action.

As you can see, we will need a variety of skills and a lot of energy to complete this process. We need people who can think strategically, like to connect with others, have access to information, like to work with data, are good at mediating conversations, are creative, have a passion for the environment the economy, or the health and social well being of our community, understand the politics of our communities etc.

There are so many ways to make a contribution. Any amount of time or energy is valuable. This could be as simple as an email pointing us in a new direction or as involved as working on a specific task within the working group. If you see yourself in any of this, please contact us.

On November 22, 2006, Headwaters Communities in Action partnered with the Hills of Headwaters Tourism Association and hosted a meeting with 40 trails enthusiasts to explore the possibility of working together to develop and promote area trails. At that meeting, we invited trails experts to share information about what is needed to build and promote a strong trails network, what is involved in promoting trails as an economic and tourist demand generator, and what is happening at a provincial level through the Ontario Trails Strategy to support trail development in the province. The outcome of the meeting was a strong consensus to mandate a Working Group of volunteers to develop a Headwaters Trails Network that would facilitate long term planning in the Headwaters area, and support the work of local trails groups.

Since this initial meeting, the Working Group has met several times. They have developed a solid vision statement and mandate that has been approved by the broader trails community. Although they have defined the geographic boundaries for the Trails Network to include Dufferin County, North Caledon, and Eastern Wellington (Erin, Orton and Hillsburgh), it is their intention to work collaboratively with neighbouring jurisdictions.

The Working Group is supported by a Resource Group which includes people who are particularly knowledgeable about various aspects of trail development and promotion, and who will act as a "sounding board" for our Working Group.

Plan of Action

The Trails Network will serve as a catalyst and facilitator in achieving the vision through the following activities over the next year:

• Developing an inventory of existing trails and who manages them
• Exploring ways to ensure connectivity of trails and of ensuring consistency in trail standards and mapping
• Researching and sharing best practices with local trails groups
• Identifying priorities for future development, key issues to be resolved, and setting recommendations
• Advocating for trails with various levels of government and other organizations
• Acting as a resource to local trails groups
• Fostering collaboration amongst partners, community groups, agencies and governments to support trail development and maintenance

As part of their role, the Headwaters Trails Network made a delegation to County Council requesting their support in creating an inter-connected multi-use trail environment throughout and surrounding Dufferin. This delegation was made in support of a motion put forward by Fred Knetsch requesting Council to consider widening county roads as they are rebuilt to accommodate biking and walking lanes. One of the goals of the Headwaters Trails Network is to work towards an interconnected system of trails throughout the Headwaters area. There will be instances where bike trails on county roads will be needed to achieve this goal. We were pleased to see that the motion passed.

In late October of 2007, Headwaters Communities in Action will be working with the Community Heart Health Network to sponsor an event featuring Bob Chauncey from the US National Centre for Bicycling and Walking. Bob Chauncey provides expertise in the planning, design and management of communities that are bicycle-friendly and walk able. With regard to trails, Bob can provide us with insights into best practices and how to manage concrete issues faced within our community. Further information about this event will be made available in the future.

Headwaters Communities in Action has established the Dufferin Fund Distribution Committee to assist the United Way of Guelph & Wellington with allocating approximately $20,000 of United Way donations designated for Dufferin. The area of focus for the 2007 process is "Reaching Individuals and Families." For further information about the process and focus of allocations, review the media release that was published in local newspapers in early April 2007.

It is with great appreciation that we extend our thanks to Community Living Dufferin and Community Care Access Centre of Wellington Dufferin for the support they have provided over the past 2 years as sponsors to our project. We benefited immensely from the leadership offered by Ross Kirkconnell and Starr Olsen who co-chaired our Steering Committee until December 2006. We wish them all the best in their future endeavours.

As of January 2007, Cam Ballantyne has assumed the role of Chair of our Steering Committee. Cam brings a wonderful level of energy and enthusiasm to the project.

The leadership provided by our Steering Committee members has made possible our current achievements. Over the winter, our Steering Committee has expanded with the addition of 3 new members. We are pleased to welcome Sheryl Chandler, Kerry Braniff, Margaret Long, and Katy Leighton.

On April 11, 2007, we hosted a meeting to provide interested community members with an opportunity to learn more about the activities planned for the year ahead, and to explore how they could contribute their talents to improving the quality of life in our region. The event was a great success! Following the presentation, the majority of the 23 participants approached us to volunteer on our projects. We are heartened by the enthusiasm of those who have agreed to volunteer, and look forward to the achievements that will be made because of their involvement. Special thanks go to ACTS Fitness Centre for hosting the meeting, and to TURFS for providing a stunning array of delicious treats.

Review our PowerPoint presentation to learn more about the core activities for 2007. If you are interested in learning more about our projects, or want to become actively involved, please contact us.