2016-Trail Restoration at Hentzel Park with Colorado Native

Start Date-End Date: 09/24/2016-09/24/2016 Land Manager Office: City and County of Denver - Parks and Recreation Land Manager Contact: Bob Finch Funding Partner: AC Golden Brewing Programmatic Partner: Summary: Perform important trail restoration work at this Denver park, followed by a happy hour! Description: About the Stewardship Site Hentzell Park is a beauitiful 71-acre area located along the Cherry Creek in southeast Denver, and is where the Hampden Heights, Cherry Creek, and High Line Canal bike trails all merge. It features paths that wind through a rustic prairie landscape with native grasses and wildflowers. About the Volunteer Experience The purpose of this project is to shut down a network of unofficial, social trails that have been established as a result of people wandering through the area without a well-defined trail. To do this, volunteers will reseed and cover social trails by placing downed brush and logs (sometimes called "slash") - making the trails appear closed. Unwind after the workday with drinks and mingling, as a fun happy hour sponsored by Colorado Native will immediately follow! About the Overall Impact Currently, there is about 3,000 feet of social trail that runs along the creek. Constant usage on these unofficial, social trails are destroying the riparian ecosystem as well as habitat of the abundant wildlife in the area. Closing these social trails that stray from the established trails will reduce habitat degradation and preserve habitat in the park. Latitude/Longitude: 39.662621, -104.873405 Additional Information: Camping Available: No Physical Difficulty: Easy High Altitude Project: No Desired Number of Volunteers: 100 Total Adult Volunteers Attended: 93 Total Youth Volunteers Attended: 14 Total Volunteer Days: 107 Total Unique Volunteers: 107 Total Volunteer Hours: 583 Staff Hours: 20 Stipend Hours: 0 Project Summary: We had great weather for the project. It was a warm and sunny Saturday for the 100+ volunteers who came out to work. Happy Haines and Knip Knippenburg addressed the group before we started. We were able to accomplish all of the allotted work by around 1:30pm, 2 hours before the expected end time of the project. In the future a more thorough consideration of the amount of work vs number of volunteers and hours would be beneficial. Successes and Challenges: Successes - Project scheduling in the morning and logistics went very well. Challenges - Despite the project manager questioning the amount of work available for the number of volunteers during the site visit, the land manager felt that it would work out well. This has happened a few times this season, where land managers underestimate the amount of work volunteers are able to accomplish. Luckily volunteers seemed to be happy with the work that they did and the time that it took. Lessons Learned: Special Notes: Stewardship Education: Key Concerns or Comments from Staff or Volunteers: Description of Accidents/Incidents: Description of Work Completed: