The St. Clair Region Conservation Authority wants your thoughts as it continues work on a new master plan for A. W. Campbell Conservation Area.
Manager of Conservation Areas Greg Wilcox said the current document was completed in 1981, so a number of things are being looked at.
"How we enhance visitor experience through different camping programs we could run, different recreational facilities that could be added or upgraded at the park, comments on our trail system, whether or not people prefer a pool to a splash pad. Those are some of the key questions we're looking to answer," said Wilcox.
The family-oriented campground, with 140 sites, is located on Shiloh Line in Brooke-Alvinston.
"We have three conservation areas that have camping, so this is one of only three," Wilcox said. "We need to make sure that our program for camping is sustainable going forward as the demand increases and make sure we're providing the camping experiences, whether that's seasonal [or] overnight group camping, providing the right experience for what the customers are looking for."
Wilcox said they've experienced increased interest in the camping sites since COVID.
"We're generally at capacity for our seasonal camping and our transient camping is very well booked. We're just trying to make sure that we're aligning that correctly for the future and what people are looking for," said Wilcox.
The draft plan, which will provide direction for the management of the site for the next 10 to 20 years, can be viewed here.
Wilcox said you can submit comments through an online survey.
"It's a fairly long document, and obviously in the summer when you do public consults people are on holidays and have other commitments. So, we try to stick to a minimum of a 45 day comment period to give people ample time to review," Wilcox said.
Comments can also be emailed to comments@scrca.on.ca.
"We're excited to hear feedback from the community and get their perspective on our different programs and facilities and see what's important to the community going forward. So, we can tweak this plan and make sure it's sustainable and aligns with the community interest," he said.
Public comments will be received until September 4 at 11:59 p.m.
The conservation area consists of 331 acres and has over 4.5 kilometres of nature trails.
It was purchased by SCRCA in 1967 from the estate of Archibald (Archie) W. Campbell, after he willed the first right of property purchase to the authority on the condition the land be used in perpetuity for a park, a recreation area or for reforestation.