Rotary Storybook Walk

Wellington Rotary aims to encourage child literacy

Users of the Millennium Trail in Wellington can now add a little reading to their walk or bike ride. Thanks to an initiative by Wellington Rotary member Linda Donville, a series of plaques, each containing a page from a children’s book, have been installed along the trail heading west from West Street. It’s called a Storybook Walk, and Donville got the idea from an issue of Rotary Canada’s magazine published last year. It included an article about a club in Ladner, BC that had created a storybook walk, and Donville thought it would be a great thing to do here as well. She got the ball rolling, starting a partnership with the County library, and obtaining funds from the Wellington Rotary for the project. Donville wanted the first book to have a local Wellington connection, and Music is for Everyone by singer Jill Barber fit the bill, since her parents live in Wellington, and Jill is a frequent visitor to the village. The book is delightfully illustrated by award winning Nova Scotia artist Sydney Smith. A group of Rotary members led by Ted Nash built the sturdy weatherproof stands for the laminated pages, and the unveiling was initially set for the Victoria Day weekend. However, due to Donville’s knee surgery at the time and her limited ability to walk, the date was shifted to the Labour Day weekend.

(L-R) Summer Robinet and Isla Nash at the start of the Wellington Rotary Storybook Walk, which features Jill Barber’s book Music is for Everyone.

Last Friday, a group of Rotarians and guests gathered at the Millennium Trail at West Street for the official unveiling of the Storybook Walk. Mayor Steve Ferguson thanked the club for their efforts to encourage child literacy, and noted that as a child he was an avid reader, starting a lifelong habit. “This is a great initiative. Going down the trail to be able to pick up this story is absolutely wonderful,” he said. Jill Barber’s parents, Brian and Joyce Barber, were also there. Brian thanked the Rotary club for choosing Jill’s book. “Jill was thrilled to learn that her book was going to be featured in this way,” he said. Donville said that Jill’s book was an easy choice.

“She’s a great jazz singer, and one of my favourites, and I knew her parents lived in Wellington, so a few of us got together and said, ‘Yeah, that’s got to be the book.’ The illustrations are fabulous and the rhythm of the words is really good for children, because it’s more like singing than reading. We’ve already had a lot of good comments, and we’re all pretty proud,” she said. “It’s about literacy and it’s about helping children to get excited about reading, and their parents are going to help them, and that’s perfect. It’s the best thing for kids to be into reading.” She added that being in the outdoors was also good for kids’ mental development. “It’s green time, not screen time.” The Rotary club plans to change the books every three months or so, and is considering building more stands going eastwards from West Street for a second book.