Clearing a Path, Building a Legacy
When the world slowed down during COVID-19, Donna Campbell picked up a weed whacker.
With travel and gatherings on hold, Donna and her partner turned their attention to the snowshoe trails behind their home in Forestview, which had been quietly used for over 15 years.
“We had just been using them for snowshoeing,” Donna says, “but we wanted to make them where we could use them when there was no snow.”
On Victoria Day weekend, they began clearing the paths of fallen branches, debris, and overgrowth. By the holiday itself, most of the trail was ready—and a surprise visit from curious hikers marked the beginning of Forestview’s new life.
“They saw our car parked and came in to see what was going on,” she says. “They were our first hikers.”
From Backyard Trail to Island Gem
That small project turned into a full-scale transformation. When Donna heard about Island Trails, she reached out for support in making Forestview an official site. “Joanne Wallace said we should go through Island Trails because they’d done it before, and they knew what they were doing.”
Soon after, Island Trails came to map the site and worked with the Department of Forestry to establish a formal lease—though some original snowshoe routes had to change. “There was a bit of back and forth,” Donna says. “Some areas we lost, but new ones were added. The Big Tree Trail—at least half of it—is new.”
A swinging bridge that once hung too low and dipped into spring runoff was replaced. Volunteers, school groups, and community members began contributing time and hands to build boardwalks and maintain the eight kilometres of trail.
“I wouldn’t even want to guess how many people have helped,” she says. “Maybe 30 to 40 over the years. Not all at once—but they’ve come in and pitched in.”
A Daily Presence
Donna is still there—almost every day.
She maintains the trail’s markings with flagging tape, keeps new growth trimmed back, and helps identify wet areas in need of boardwalks. “Island Trails gave me a weed eater,” she adds. “And that’s eight kilometres that has to be done.”
She also guides newcomers through the forest, ensuring they’re comfortable, aware, and safe. “I just really love the forest and everything about it,” she says. “I take people in who haven’t been before, and I just share how it becomes part of you—and you become part of it.”
“Who I Am”
So what drives her commitment?
“I’m Indigenous. I’m Cherokee,” she says. “I’ve been reconnecting with my culture since COVID, but even before that, I’ve always felt close to the forest.”
As a child, Donna spent most of her time outside. She raised her own children to appreciate nature, and now brings her grandchildren along for two-night backpacking trips. “I just want to teach them how to experience it, respect it, and care for it,” she says. “So they know what their responsibility is to the forest.”
Her identity as a Cherokee woman is interwoven with her environmental values—taught by her father long before she recognized them as cultural teachings.
“He taught me so much about being Cherokee—without me even realizing it at the time,” she says. “I just thought everyone learned that way.”
“Let Them Flip the Rock”
Donna believes in allowing kids to fully experience nature—dirty hands, overturned rocks, and all.
“I said this during the OC course—we have to let children touch and feel and taste and get to know nature. Then someday they’ll understand that the sod they’re digging up, the rock they’re flipping, is someone else’s home. And they’ll want to protect it.”
She’s even quietly planted trees in Forestview—sprouted oaks from a friend’s yard. “I didn’t mark them. I just thought, if they grow, we’ll know they were meant to.”
A Message to the Island Trails Community
Donna expresses deep gratitude to Island Trails members. “I appreciate your mandate and the way you’re making trails accessible to all Islanders and visitors alike. Keep up the good work.”
But she also encourages the organization to look ahead.
“If we’re not moving forward, then we’re probably moving backward,” she says. “I think it would be good to identify areas on the Island that don’t yet have trails nearby. People are more likely to use them regularly if they’re within 10 to 30 kilometres of home.”
Her vision is practical, community-rooted, and built on lived experience—like everything she’s contributed to Forestview.
Becoming Part of the Forest
In Donna’s words, walking the trail isn’t just about physical movement—it’s a return to something deeper.
“It just becomes part of you,” she says. “And you become part of it. It’s very relaxing and comforting. It just makes you feel really good.”
Thanks to Donna, Forestview isn’t just a trail system—it’s a living legacy, carefully nurtured and shared with everyone who steps into the woods.