The Trails to Literacy project has proven to be a constructive and useful undertaking for participants, our agency, and the community. It has provided an opportunity to increase our annual contact hours on the whole by 25% in just a five month period.

Through this project we learned what many have discovered before us - that participatory education, wherein the learners have the control, boosts the learning grid and provides a platform for attaining those important 'soft skills'. The benefits of turning the project over to the participants - volunteers, community placements, and learners - were much greater than anticipated. The group decision-making led to a program which was more responsive to the learners' needs.

Although this project began with one-time funding from the National Literacy Secretariat (NLS), we will definitely continue it as part of our ongoing literacy program, due to its positive marketing and teaching outcomes. NLS, with the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges & Universities, has provided funding to take the project to other programs in Ontario, through seed money and information sessions.

Does a "trail" have to be the traditional woodsy walkway? We have come to feel that Trails to Literacy is transferable almost anywhere, that it is a pathway to skills attainment, that it is a way to market literacy while still doing what we do best - facilitate learning. A trail could be a historic walk through a village or section of a city. It could be a trail of sound, touch and scent for the blind. It could be a trail of native healing. The possibilities are endless.

We see Trails to Literacy spreading. We anticipate that the enthusiasm and success will be infectious. We can see it as a platform for literacy marketing throughout Ontario and possibly across Canada. We hope that you will join us in building 'Trails to Literacy - Positive Pathways to a Brighter Future!'

For more information contact : Deb Ibey *, Project Coordinator, North Frontenac Literacy Program, Box 413, Sharbot Lake, ON K0H 2P0, Tel. (613) 279-2499, Email: literacy@frontenac.net

The NALD Newsletter
Vol.7, No. 1 / Winter 2002
ISSN 1485-2713

Networks, the newsletter of the National Adult Literacy Database Inc., provides the Canadian literacy community with current information on educational activities in adult literacy and basic adult education.

NALD keeps literacy practitioners, learners, administrators, policy makers and researchers informed on trends, recent publications, available resources, upcoming events and ongoing activities both nationally and in the regions.

For further information or to give your comments, please contact:

The Editor - Networks
c/o National Adult Literacy Database Inc.
Scovil House
703 Brunswick Street
Fredericton, New Brunswick
Canada E3B 1H8

Toll-Free: 1-800-720-NALD (6253)
Tel: 506-457-6900
Fax: 506-45 7-6910
E-mail: info@nald.ca
WWW: http://www.nald.ca

NALD Networks Production Team:
Editor : Lorette Chiasson
Production Manager and Assistant Editor: Lorraine Nolan
Graphics Manager: Lorraine Nolan

NALD would like to thank North Frontenac Literacy Program - ON, Correctional Service of Canada, Learning at the Centre Press - AB, Storysacks Canada - NB, PEI Literacy Alliance - PE, Centre AlphaPlus Centre - ON, Ministère des relations avec les citoyens et de l’Immigration - QC, EDA Inc - QC, Saint John Learning Exchange - NB, Fédération des travailleurs et travailleuses du Québec - QC, Noranda Inc - NB and Centre DÉBAT - QC, for the opportunity to use their photographs within this newsletter.