Description
Start Date-End Date: 06/09/2016-06/09/2016
Land Manager Office: City and County of Denver - Parks and Recreation
Land Manager Contact: Bob Finch
Funding Partner: Empower (formerly Great-West)
Programmatic Partner:
Summary: Trail maintenance at Red Rocks
Description: Trail maintenance at Red Rocks
Latitude/Longitude: 39.666467, -105.204855
Additional Information:
Camping Available: No
Physical Difficulty: Moderate
High Altitude Project: No
Desired Number of Volunteers: 52
Total Adult Volunteers Attended: 51
Total Youth Volunteers Attended: 0
Total Volunteer Days: 51
Total Unique Volunteers: 51
Total Volunteer Hours: 252
Staff Hours: 28
Stipend Hours: 0
Project Summary: On June 9, 42 Great-West employees came out to Red Rocks Park for their second annual SWAT with VOC. Several of the folks who showed up for this year's project attended the Great-West SWAT last year at Genessee and were thrilled with their experience there. Once everyone had arrived, registered, and grabbed a bagel and Starbucks coffee, volunteers gathered in the gazebo for a few words from Great-West volunteer coordinator Jennifer Bell, a quick history and some information about the local ecosystem/importance of this trail from the land manager, and an intro from the VOC project manager. Despite the extreme heat (in the low 90s), Great-West volunteers split up into four crews and worked enthusiastically until lunch arrived at 12 PM. The Which Wich box lunches were a huge hit, and it especially helped that they were delivered to the project site! Volunteers hunkered down in the shade of the gazebo at the Geologic Overlook Trailhead to eat lunch, chat with coworkers and VOC staff, and take a group photo, then headed back out a little before 1 PM. One trail crew finished their section early and headed around to the backside of the trail to help Park Ranger Ryan Phillian and his crew with their section. Ryan was pleased with how much work the group was able to accomplish, and Great-West employees were enthusiastic about their day of volunteering.
Successes and Challenges: The biggest challenge with this project was the weather on the day of: in the low 90s beginning around 9:30 AM, when crews hit the trail. Volunteers needed frequent breaks in the shade to keep from becoming overheated. I brought 2.5-gallon water jugs for each crew plus a large water cooler for the gazebo. Since it was shady in the gazebo, volunteers on crews lower down on the trail tended to take their breaks there, so that water cooler was low by lunch. Fortunately, there's a water source nearby, so we were able to make sure there was plenty of water for all volunteers and crew leaders, but next time I'd bring more water than anticipated needs since it tends to get so hot at Red Rocks.
Purchasing Which Wich box lunches was definitely a success. Jay Goldstein, who manages VOC's lunch orders and gives us a discounted rate, is incredibly helpful, communicative, and easy to work with. He delivered box lunches super punctually and even offered to carry them from his vehicle up to the gazebo. Volunteers enjoyed the box lunches and commented on the great variety of choices. This seems like an ideal setup for a SWAT.
Lessons Learned: Establishing dates/work available with land managers would have reduced some headaches during the planning process for this project. Basic summary: Date and location were confirmed with Great-West, but not with the land manager, which meant some last-minute scrambling to make sure there would a) be work for VOC volunteers at Red Rocks and b) that we could do it on that date. Fortunately, it worked out this time, but in the future, it would be helpful to ensure the date/location work for the land manager before offering it up to the corporate group.
Special Notes:
Stewardship Education: Several Great-West volunteers commented that they'd never previously thought about how trails are created, and that they have a much better understanding of all the work that goes into constructing and maintaining a trail now. Great-West employees have 16 hours annually of time they can be paid to volunteer outside the office, so with 6 taken care of by this project, that means each of these 42 people still has 10 hours left to donate to a non-profit in 2016! Hopefully Ryan's talk in the morning, along with info from the project manager and crew leaders about VOC during the day, will inspire some of those folks to volunteer on another project this season.
Key Concerns or Comments from Staff or Volunteers: This project required a great deal of support from VOC staff. This was due in part to the technical nature of the work, which was difficult enough that a CL for a Day training and/or fewer crew leaders would not have been appropriate for this SWAT. Having less technical work available for SWATs would reduce the need for skilled crew leaders, which on a weekday often means staff, as volunteer crew leaders are less likely to be available to volunteer on weekdays.
Description of Accidents/Incidents:
Description of Work Completed: 415 feet of tread top dressed
70 feet of tread maintained (recut cross slope)
1x rock rip rap drain installed
1x armored water bar installed
4x drain dips installed
2x rock walls built/repaired for timber stair case pad retention
20 feet of social trail slashed
Details
| 14 and older |
