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For the last 25 years, Joseph Jesudason has walked, run and biked along the BLT Trail and has taken the occasional dip in nearby Governor Lake.
The 13-kilometre section of trail on the western outskirts of Halifax runs along an abandoned rail corridor and connects the communities of Beechville, Lakeside and Timberlea.
Jesudason was among a number of volunteers who recently signed up to become part of a new group that will be tasked with maintaining the trail, which is also used by dog walkers, all-terrain vehicle enthusiasts, snowmobilers and cross-country skiers.
“I’m willing to help out in any way they see fit,” said Jesudason, who is semi-retired.
On April 1, the association that for years had managed the trail stepped down and passed a letter of authority — the document that gives formal access to use or manage Crown land — back to the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources.
The BLT Rails to Trails Association said in a letter to the department in November that it had determined “the current community development model, the funding structure, and the limited number of volunteers mean we can no longer maintain the trail to the expected standard.”
A meeting organized by Timberlea-Prospect MLA Iain Rankin, local Coun. Janet Steele and a provincial trail consultant was held in the community last week to talk about the future of the trail and find a new volunteer board.
Timberlea-Prospect MLA Iain Rankin speaks at a meeting at the Beechville Lakeside Timberlea Community Centre on April 15, 2026. (Ethan Hunt/CBC)
The board collaborates with the Department of Natural Resources, applies for grants, communicates with the public and provides administrative and other support for the other volunteers who maintain the trail.
Jill Campbell-Miller, who served as chair of the previous board until she had her second child in 2020, said the role requires enough time and flexibility to run the trail all year long.
“It’s a tremendous amount of yearly maintenance,” Campbell-Miller said.
Jesudason, who lives in a Timberlea subdivision next to the trail, said he spent a lot of time outdoors growing up in the 1960s near Liverpool, N.S., and continuing to bike and run has helped him remain in good health.
He said the trail also provides an outlet for young people to get exercise.
Jesudason said he was surprised and a “little bit shocked” when he learned the trail was no longer being maintained — especially considering its popularity — and he stepped forward to volunteer because he doesn’t want to see it fall into disrepair.
He said he was optimistic about the trail’s future following the meeting.
“The main thing is if it’s there, people will use it. If it’s maintained … and they know about it, they’ll use it.”
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