A Great Canadian Donor : Anne Cameron

Growing up in Toronto after the war, Anne Cameron had a unique childhood.

“My father, Jock Macfarlane, was a prospector,” recalls Anne. “Every summer, he paddled in remote parts of Canada. His respect for the land instilled in me, and my brother John, a love of camping, canoeing and roaming in the bush.”

Today, Anne lives on the outskirts of Ottawa on a 250-acre bush lot. She’s in the same home she had built in 1965 with her late husband Eion, a geochemist.

Donating to the Trans Canada Trail is something that comes naturally to her. “I feel inspired to do it. It’s in my soul,” says Anne, who, as a Girl Guide, hiked with famous mountaineer Phyllis Munday in Yoho National Park, B.C. “It’s wonderful being outdoors, seeing birds and plants and trees. It’s good for every human being to be in nature.”

Most days, Anne hikes 2.5 km on her property or makes the trip to nearby Stittsville to enjoy the Trans Canada Trail. “That section of the Trail, leading to Ashton, is an old railroad bed, so it’s straight and you can look off into the distance. This makes for an uplifting vista. There’s plenty to look at, with wetland, mixed bush, cedar grove and pine trees.”

Anne began donating to the TCT in 1995, gifting inscriptions in Ontario, British Columbia, Newfoundland and Nunavut. Anne also made donations honouring her two grandchildren, Mia and Cameron, to help nurture what Anne refers to as “an intimate, life-long respect for Canada.”

Anne passed along the desire to support the Trail to her children. One daughter has donated with much enthusiasm to the TCT in Sault Ste. Marie.

“The Trail is something for generations to come,” she concludes. “I want to see it fully connected!”