-
2 people are interested
Trail Building & Maintenance Volunteers Needed
ORGANIZATION: Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy
Please visit the new page to apply.
-
2 people are interested
ABOUT
The Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy’s sustainable trail systems offer Nature Preserve visitors an exceptional experience that supports healthy lifestyles, equitable access to nature and serve as the foundation of support for the Conservancy. We are able to connect with new and existing supporters on guided hikes, through our interpretive signage or through individual tours, all of which take place on our trail systems! As such, keeping our trails in pristine condition and offering a variety of opportunities throughout our service area is crucial to our mission.
RESPONSIBILITIES/DUTIES
Each trail workday may involve different tasks, but all of the following may be included on any given day:
- Clearing the trail corridor with saws and pruners
- Removing large woody debris from corridor
- Raking any organic material (leaves, roots etc) from the corridor
- Using hand tools to move soil and create the trail bed
- Paint markings to "blaze" the trail for wayfinding
- Installation of trail features such as drains, culverts, turnpikes, or bridges
WHERE
The Conservancy often has trail projects on several properties throughout our 5 county service area. Please check our Event & Shift Calendar at https://www.gtrlc.org/volunteer/calendar/
and with our Volunteer Manager Jon Throop for current projects at jthroop@gtrlc.org
WHEN
We believe that any time you choose to contribute to improving access to nature on our Preserves or elsewhere is invaluable, and you may volunteer as much as your schedule allows. That said, we’ve designed our trail building opportunities as regular, weekly efforts in which we hope you will return for multiple weeks. If you’re unable to commit to these weekday workdays, consider our Preserve Steward program which allows you to volunteer on your own schedule.
TRAINING
All Trail building and maintenance volunteers will receive training on all concepts necessary to build sustainable trail systems including:
- Sustainable trail concepts
- Tool use and safety
- Relevance and importance of trail systems
If you feel you do not meet any skill-level requirements or qualifications, don’t worry! We are always happy to teach newcomers how to work on trails and encourage all who are interested in making a positive impact on their community to join us at one of our work days!
If you’re excited to learn about and help us build sustainable trail systems, sign up to be a volunteer today!
More opportunities with Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy
No additional volunteer opportunities at this time.
About Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy
Location:
2846 3 Mile Rd N, Traverse City, MI 49686, US
Mission Statement
Protecting significant natural, scenic, and farm lands - and advancing stewardship -- now and for future generations.
Description
With the support of landowners, individual donors, foundations and volunteers and the partnership of local, state, and federal agencies, the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy has protected more than 44,000 acres of land and over 140 miles of shoreline along the region’s exceptional rivers, lakes and streams. Since 1991, the Conservancy has diligently carried out its mission to protect natural, scenic, and farm lands - and advance land stewardship - now and for future generations.
We focus our land conservation efforts to permanently protect critical watersheds, high-quality farmland, valuable forest land and ecologically significant dunes along Lake Michigan’s beautiful and endangered shore. This work protects water quality, safeguards critical wildlife habitat, helps ensure the future viability of farming in our region and protects the viewsheds that make our region so breathtaking.
To date, the Conservancy has protected and directly manages over 46,000 acres of natural land held open to the public throughout our five-county service area - a feat we cannot accomplish without our incredible volunteer colleagues.
CAUSE AREAS
WHEN
WHERE
3860 N Long Lake Road Suite DTraverse City, MI 49684
DATE POSTED
April 24, 2021
SKILLS
GOOD FOR
- Teens
- People 55+
REQUIREMENTS
- Orientation or Training
- Trail building can be very strenuous labor depending on the slope and soil types we’re building the trail on. Some qualifications that can help you be successful are:
- familiarity with basic hand tools and our different trail systems (it helps if you enjoy hiking/biking), and the ability to perform strenuous labor for approx. two hours at a time.