Genius Post Week 5

Welcome to Balls Falls!

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Historical Context 

Ball's Falls has been lovingly restored to its early 1800's atmosphere and now features an operating flour mill, a lime kiln, a church, family home, blacksmith shop, carriage shed, and more.The Bruce Trail passes through the very north end of the conservation area to the north of the lower falls. Hikes along the Bruce Trail either to the west or the east can be made from this location.

Welcome to our final hike of our genius hour project! Our learning objective for this project was to explore the hiking trails in the Niagara Region based on beauty, difficulty and natural resources. My group and I succeeded in doing this because we explored many different trails around the Niagara Region, and selected some of our favourites based on the criteria listed above. I am sad to be concluding this project because I had a lot of fun and had the opportunity to reconnect with nature and focus on mindfulness and self care. This project helped me focus on my health and meet some awesome girls along the way. Lets look at my findings based on natural resources for Ball's Falls!

Air: The day we went on the hike, it was very wet. The trees had lots of moisture on the leaves making the air feel damp. However, the trees have lots of foliage making it more sheltered from the winds. This trail does require a good amount of lung capacity because due to the hills a hiker will become winded easily. It could be a good idea to use poles for this trail. Overall, I still felt like this trail was sheltered from many of the elements but a hiker still needs to wear appropriate attire to stay dry and safe. The pictures below show the foliage on the trees and some of the puddles on the trail/ making the terrain muddy. 





Land: The land was a mixture between flat, hills, and slight inclines. Please see picture above of me walking down the path, its noticeable that the path is narrow making it difficult for multiple people to walk side by side. The land was saturated in water and had to be careful of my footholds because of the slick and slippery terrain including rocks, moss, and branches on the walking trail. There is a mix of hardwoods with coniferous trees within the deciduous forest zone. Some trees noted were eastern cottonwood, butternut, black walnut, white oak and tulip trees. In spite of some obstructed areas on the path, it was well maintained and had clear trail makers on the tree making the path easy to walk. One difficult part of the path is the staircase that leads to the falls, the staircase is steep and with the rain storm made the stairs slippery and difficult to maneuver. In case of getting stranded I did observe some clear flat land that would be accessible for shelter for a hiker.  

Fire: The trail provided many resources for hikers in terms of fire. There was many fallen down trees and kindling that could be helpful for warmth, shelter, food, and fun. There was many rocks that could be used to contain the fire to a certain area. Along the path down the hill by the stream, a fellow hiker built a man made barbecue out of rocks. There was signs that there was a camp established around the bbq. 

Water: There was a stream that ran below the trail. There is also two waterfalls on Twenty Mile Creek. The upper falls is about 35 feet and the lower falls is about 90 feet. The lower falls passes over rock that looks like limestone. There is a variety of species of fish that inhabit the water some include largemouth bass, yellow perch and pickerel. The falls were not as accessible to hikers without embarking on some off trail hiking which we did not attempt. However, there was steams that were accessible to hikers for water, washing and cooling off. 

I really enjoyed this hike. Balls Falls and Decew Falls were my top two favourites. I think reflecting on all of the hikes I learned a lot about the trails natural resources, and thought more critically and seriously about what a hiker would need for survival in case of an emergency. I think I learned a lot about myself in terms of looking at nature differently and strengthening my connection and appreciation to our Mother Earth. I am grateful I was able to experience this genius hour project because I would have not made two amazing new friends and get to learn in a different way. I will defiantly use this framework in my own teaching. It is a wonderful way to get to know people in a more deeper and meaningful way. I will rate Ball's Falls and this project a 9.5/10. 

Thank-you all for joining my team and I! I hope everyone enjoyed our adventures, and will explore some of the amazing trails around the Niagara Region.