Navarino Nature Center opens GRACE Trail

A new trail was completed and opened at the Navarino Nature Center on May 19. With Shawano Pathways, ThedaCare and other community partners, the nature center opened a GRACE trail for visitors to walk and reflect on the things that are most important to them. GRACE stands for Grateful, Release, Acceptance, Challenge and Embrace. Along the mile-long trail, there are five checkpoints, each representing one letter of the word GRACE. When visitors reach each checkpoint, they are met with a question and are invited to reflect on what that question means to them. “I think that the joint venture of the project between the nature center and Shawano Pathways is going to be a good thing to help get people out,” said nature center director Tim Ewing. “It gives visitors an opportunity to stop and reflect while enjoying nature.” After her mother was diagnosed with COVID-19 in November 2020, Matty Mathison said that she went and visited her mother in Appleton and would often walk the Wiouwash Trail in Outgamie County. “I would just remember every day that I walked that I was so grateful that she was alive,” said Mathison, who helped to bring the GRACE trail to Navarino. “This whole time when I was visiting her, that word grateful stuck in my head.” Mathison said that when she returned home in Shawano, she was catching up on mail and saw a small paragraph in a magazine about GRACE trails. “For some reason, I picked up the magazine and called,” said Mathison. “I knew that I was going to help build a GRACE trail here.” She said that with the help of Shawano Parks and Recreation Director Matt Hendricks they brought the idea of the GRACE trail to ThedaCare. “They were gracious enough to give us a $10,000 matching grant,” said Mathison. “In two weeks, we had raised the funds to match the $10,000.” Mathison added that the Forget Me Not Fund helped to aid the GRACE trail. “We had the funding, and it just grew with volunteers,” said Mathison. Ewing said that in terms of the Navarino Nature Center, this trail can help to get more people out to the center and have their own experiences with nature. “We are doing a lot of improvements here,” said Ewing. “Pathways added the GRACE trail, we are doing a trail this spring, we are working with the DNR to add other trails on the property as well. This is all an effort to get everyone to help each other explore the property. We want people to realize what they have in their backyard.” When visitors use the trail, Mathison said that she wants them to have their own experiences on the trail. “That is so personal,” said Mathison. “Some people may look at one question. For me, grateful is the one that inspires me, but others may walk the trail and find one of the other stations that speaks to them. If they just walk and read the words and don’t stay, that’s okay. Having these stations does not cause any harm.” Ewing added on this thought, saying that he wants visitors to come to the nature center and walk away with a little more excitement about nature. “In the last couple years, I know that people were coming out here to relax,” said Ewing. “I want people to come out here and relax. We want people to feel safe and enjoy this. We also want people to understand a little bit more about nature than when they arrived.” Mathison said that this trail can play a big factor in people’s lives. “The trail gives you an opportunity to slow down and think about the important things in your life,” said Mathison. Helping to spearhead the project and seeing the trail completed, Mathison said that she has pride in those who have helped. “I would just put an email out asking if anyone wanted to help,” said Mathison. “There were so many wonderful volunteers who took time out of their day to help create this. It was a labor of love.” lreimer@newmedia-wi.com