2015-Eagle Scout Youth SWAT @ Woodbine Ecology Center

Start Date-End Date: 08/08/2015-08/08/2015 Land Manager Office: Woodbine Ecology Center Land Manager Contact: Pavlos Stavropoulos Funding Partner: Programmatic Partner: Summary: Eagle Scout Sage Miller will be leading a youth SWAT to build new trail at the Woodbine Ecology Center. Description: Eagle Scout Sage Miller will be leading a youth SWAT to build new trail at the Woodbine Ecology Center. Latitude/Longitude: 39.380838, -105.047830 Additional Information: Camping Available: No Physical Difficulty: Easy, Moderate, Difficult High Altitude Project: No Desired Number of Volunteers: 50 Total Adult Volunteers Attended: 18 Total Youth Volunteers Attended: 15 Total Volunteer Days: 33 Total Unique Volunteers: 33 Total Volunteer Hours: 255 Staff Hours: 22 Stipend Hours: 0 Project Summary: On Saturday, August 8th, 33 volunteers came out to the Woodbine Ecology Center near Sedalia, CO. The group was organized by Eagle Scout-hopeful, Sage Miller. VOC volunteer Terry Gimbel worked with the staff at Woodbine to lay out some new trail construction, including step and check dam installation. The group was able to close 200 ft. of social trail, install 14 check dams to elimante erosion issues, build 15 stairs, replace one retaining wall and build a new one, and construct 100 ft of new trail. The group hadn't had much stewardship experience collectively, but they had a good first experience. Successes and Challenges: The Eagle Scout project has a lot of different components that the Eagle Scout needs to be involved in, so it was a challenge to coordinate all the moving parts of a project, with a 16-yr-old. But in the end, it all got done and was a great project. It just took a little more prodding than usual. Lessons Learned: Special Notes: Woodbine could be a good location for trainings-- trail design and wooden structures. There is no rock there. Stewardship Education: Pavlos, the director of Woodbine, spoke to the group during lunch about the history of Woodbine. It has a long, and varied history, so that was neat for the group to hear. He talked about what they do today, and how the new/improved trail would benefit their programming. Key Concerns or Comments from Staff or Volunteers: Some of the volunteers got a rash from the property-- apparently some of the caterpillars in the area can cause a rash, and there may have been some poison oak in the area, that was brought in through heavy spring rains. The group was not aware of these risks beforehand, but communications were sent out after. Description of Accidents/Incidents: Rashes, as explained above. Description of Work Completed: