2014-Trail Construction and Native Planting at Sloan's Lake with Colorado Native

Start Date-End Date: 09/20/2014-09/20/2014 Land Manager Office: City and County of Denver - Parks and Recreation Land Manager Contact: Mara Fielding-Purdy Funding Partner: Programmatic Partner: Summary: NOTE: Registration for this opportunity is full. If you register, you will be placed on the wait list. As space becomes available, we will move individuals off the wait list. Description: STEWARDSHIP SITE Near the Highlands, Sloan's Lake Park is a popular community park that is popular with walkers, runners, and bikers. The large network of paths and trails surrounding the lake experience heavy pedestrian and bike traffic throughout the year, leaving it in need of regular maintenance. VOLUNTEER PROJECT- WHAT & WHY VOC volunteers will spend an afternoon at Sloan's Lake Park and help to construct a new trail, close social trails, and plant native species. The volunteer day will conclude with happy hour at Providence Tavern, sponsored by Colorado Native! PARTNERS & SPONSORS Colorado Native Denver Parks and Recreation Xcel Energy REI ?Lockheed Martin Oracle The Boeing Company Clif Bar & Company Helen K. and Arthur E. Johnson Foundation OTHER FUN STUFF Happy Hour: Project will be followed by a volunteer appreciationhappy hour sponsored by Colorado Native at Providence Tavern. Latitude/Longitude: 39.747935, -105.046974 Additional Information: Camping Available: No Physical Difficulty: Easy, Moderate High Altitude Project: No Desired Number of Volunteers: 75 Total Adult Volunteers Attended: 96 Total Youth Volunteers Attended: 6 Total Volunteer Days: 98 Total Unique Volunteers: 102 Total Volunteer Hours: 405 Staff Hours: 32 Stipend Hours: 0 Project Summary: Successes and Challenges: Lessons Learned: Special Notes: Stewardship Education: Key Concerns or Comments from Staff or Volunteers: This project is extremely popular with volunteers, due to the CO Native happy hour afterwards. Everyone had a great time. The project has great visibility to the community, and many people stopped to ask what was happening. I think that CO Native and VOC benefit from this project. Many people come to this project as a first-time VOC volunteer, and many people try CO Native for the first time, and are impressed by the company. Description of Accidents/Incidents: Two people cut their hands on the fencing. They were given alcohol wipes immediately, and then a clean bandage along with antibiotic ointment. Description of Work Completed: 100 volunteers came out to Sloan's Lake on a hot Saturday to build a crusher fine trail, plant native species, and remove trash. Once everyone got working, they flew through the work. The crusher fine trail was already cut, so volunteers were just filling it in with the crusher, and then tamping it down. They also built a circular overlook pad that the trail leads to. Eventually, a birding sign will go in there. There were volunteers that put on waders and were planting wetland species/grasses into the lakebed. This was a little difficult due to fencing in place for erosion control. There were other volunteers that were just planting native shrubs and grasses into dry dirt patches.