Ann Marie Yorke: Advantages of rural living

Living in a rural setting has a great many advantages and we should consider ourselves very lucky to live in a county that offers so many recreational opportunities for our families.

The Municipality of Richmond offers a wide variety of programs with everything from yoga for our seniors to free skating for our parents and tots. They also offer free skates and helmets for use at the local arena and outdoor equipment such as snowshoes for outdoor activities.

For a full list of opportunities offered by the recreation department go to the county’s website.

Living in a rural area offers our citizens the opportunity to enjoy the beauty of nature and the ability to be able to access the great outdoors and its benefits as our outdoor lovers travel along our hiking and all-terrain vehicle trails.

For those who enjoy ice fishing during the winter season, the weather is complying quite nicely with temperatures cold enough to freeze some of our lake inlets. Those who enjoy the sport and peacefulness of ice fishing often bring home delicious fish for supper.

Of course, if you enjoy this type of outdoor adventure, make sure to measure the depth of the ice before venturing out, as your safety is always a priority.

Another great feature offered in the county is the public libraries located in St. Peter’s and Petit de Grat.

The libraries provide an amazing opportunity for families to obtain books for all its members. What an amazing advantage for kids doing research projects for school. The library has a wide variety of books on all types of genres from mystery, to history, to science, romance, fiction and non-fiction and adventure.

And the best part of all for families is that you can access these books for free, just by signing up at your local library.

Books provide the opportunity for knowledge and knowledge is instrumental for every child. Visit your local library with your children and give them this amazing learning experience.

Families with children from newborn to five years of age can also sign up for the Dolly Parton’s Imaginary Library feature, where your child will receive a free book once a month, to keep as their own.

We are indeed lucky to live in such an amazing county.

Ann Marie Yorke has worked closely with the Richmond County tourism industry and has been a tourism information officer in St. Peter’s for 15 years. She looks forward to your comments at [email protected].