2012-Cairn November 2012: Walker Ranch and Bioneers

Start Date-End Date: 11/10/2012-11/10/2012 Land Manager Office: Land Manager Contact: Funding Partner: Programmatic Partner: Summary: VOC is happy to have you as a member of our Cairn Program. Cairns are piles of rocks placed by people on trails to indicate the direction of the path to hikers and mark the mountain summit. Cairns show people the way as they travel in the outdoors. For us, Cairn will show you the way to get outside; learn about Colorado's environmental issues; and help take care, or steward, our public lands. Today, our group continues our year long adventure with the goal of leading our own environmental volunteer project in April 2013. This month we are partnering with Fletcher Jacobs from Boulder County Open Space (and one time VOC Project Manager/Cairn Coordinator) and attending a portion of the Bioneers Conference at CU. We will be at Walker Ranch in Boulder to do a section of trail closure/reclamation (for those of you that were on the MPEC project, you'll be pros at this!!) as well as a fencing project. We will be splitting up into two groups, as the work sites are a fair distance from one another. Walker Ranch offers a rich mosaic of mountain habitats to explore in every season. Hikers, mountain bikers, anglers, snowshoers, equestrians, and picnickers enjoy this property has to offer, with 3,504 acres of backcountry and approximately 10 miles of multi-use trails. The park also contains 2.5 miles of South Boulder Creek which flows from the Gross Reservoir outside of the park boundaries. Walker Ranch can be accessed from either the Meyers Homestead trailhead on the west side of Flagstaff Road (where we will be!) or the Walker Ranch Loop trailhead on the east side, located about 7 miles west of Baseline Road in Boulder. The second half of the day will be spent at the University of Colorado where a local Bioneers Conference is taking place. The CU Environmental Center, Transition Colorado, Naropa University, Center for Resource Conservation, Restorative Leadership Institute, Boulder's Best Organics, and Woodbine Ecology Center with the support of sponsors and partner groups have putting together Bioneers to Boulder for the 10th year. The Colorado Bioneers companion event creates community opportunities for sharing, learning and action, and brings together the region's progressive ideas, people, and organizations. The event features a broadcast of the national Bioneers plenaries and is locally enriched with: music and arts; networking, children's eco-activities; field trips, and sessions, workshops and keynotes addressing topics of regional importance and community solutions. This is a three day event, but we will be only attending the Saturday afternoon session(s). If for some reason the weather is too crazy to do the project at Walker Ranch, we will spend the whole day at the Bioneers Conference at CU. Description: VOC is happy to have you as a member of our Cairn Program. Cairns are piles of rocks placed by people on trails to indicate the direction of the path to hikers and mark the mountain summit. Cairns show people the way as they travel in the outdoors. For us, Cairn will show you the way to get outside; learn about Colorado’s environmental issues; and help take care, or steward, our public lands. Today, our group continues our year long adventure with the goal of leading our own environmental volunteer project in April 2013. This month we are partnering with Fletcher Jacobs from Boulder County Open Space (and one time VOC Project Manager/Cairn Coordinator) and attending a portion of the Bioneers Conference at CU. We will be at Walker Ranch in Boulder to do a section of trail closure/reclamation (for those of you that were on the MPEC project, you’ll be pros at this!!) as well as a fencing project. We will be splitting up into two groups, as the work sites are a fair distance from one another. Walker Ranch offers a rich mosaic of mountain habitats to explore in every season. Hikers, mountain bikers, anglers, snowshoers, equestrians, and picnickers enjoy this property has to offer, with 3,504 acres of backcountry and approximately 10 miles of multi-use trails. The park also contains 2.5 miles of South Boulder Creek which flows from the Gross Reservoir outside of the park boundaries. Walker Ranch can be accessed from either the Meyers Homestead trailhead on the west side of Flagstaff Road (where we will be!) or the Walker Ranch Loop trailhead on the east side, located about 7 miles west of Baseline Road in Boulder. The second half of the day will be spent at the University of Colorado where a local Bioneers Conference is taking place. The CU Environmental Center, Transition Colorado, Naropa University, Center for Resource Conservation, Restorative Leadership Institute, Boulder’s Best Organics, and Woodbine Ecology Center with the support of sponsors and partner groups have putting together Bioneers to Boulder for the 10th year. The Colorado Bioneers companion event creates community opportunities for sharing, learning and action, and brings together the region’s progressive ideas, people, and organizations. The event features a broadcast of the national Bioneers plenaries and is locally enriched with: music and arts; networking, children’s eco-activities; field trips, and sessions, workshops and keynotes addressing topics of regional importance and community solutions. This is a three day event, but we will be only attending the Saturday afternoon session(s). If for some reason the weather is too crazy to do the project at Walker Ranch, we will spend the whole day at the Bioneers Conference at CU. Latitude/Longitude: 39.943294, -105.348978 Additional Information: Camping Available: No Physical Difficulty: Moderate High Altitude Project: Yes Desired Number of Volunteers: 40 Total Adult Volunteers Attended: 13 Total Youth Volunteers Attended: 23 Total Volunteer Days: 36 Total Unique Volunteers: 36 Total Volunteer Hours: 240 Staff Hours: 18 Stipend Hours: 0 Project Summary: Successes and Challenges: Lessons Learned: Special Notes: Stewardship Education: Students learned about historic preservation with the fencing project, and the trail restoration group reviewed the importance of reveging closed trails (a skill we learned at MPEC last month) Key Concerns or Comments from Staff or Volunteers: Weather was crazy!! No prius on mountain trips in the winter! Description of Accidents/Incidents: N/A Description of Work Completed: Students/Mentors were split up into 2 groups; one group did the fence construction at the Walker Ranch homestead, while the others traveled to the Crescent Meadows trailhead at Walker Ranch to do some trail restoration work that didn't hold over the summer.