Description
Start Date-End Date: 07/22/2017-07/22/2017
Land Manager Office: Douglas County Parks & Trails
Land Manager Contact: Luke Thornton
Funding Partner: Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company
Programmatic Partner: The Mission Continues
Summary: Help maintain a signature Denver Hike and Bike Trail!
Description: Developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as a means of water delivery to growing sections of Denver, the Highline Canal now provides over 60 miles of recreational access stretching from Chatfield State Park to Green Valley Ranch.
Volunteers will help to maintain the portion of the High Line Canal Trail emanating from Chatfield State Park, which is managed by Douglas County. Tasks will consist of pruning and removing overgrown vegetation from the trail.
Please indicate your T-Shirt Size in the Commments section when you register!!!!!
Latitude/Longitude: 39.529350, -105.054565
Additional Information:
Camping Available: No
Physical Difficulty: Easy, Moderate
High Altitude Project: No
Desired Number of Volunteers: 50
Total Adult Volunteers Attended: 36
Total Youth Volunteers Attended: 1
Total Volunteer Days: 37
Total Unique Volunteers: 37
Total Volunteer Hours: 148
Staff Hours: 23.5
Stipend Hours: 0
Project Summary: On Saturday 7/22/17, 27 Lockheed Martin volunteers paired with 10 Mission Continues and Level 3 Veterans to complete about a mile of brush from the side of the Highline Canal trail just south of Chatfield State Park. Volunteers used pruning saws and loppers to trim back vegetation that was creeping onto the trail. The vegetation was then stacked to be mulched/removed at a later date. The Highline Canal trailwinds for 71 miles between Aurora and Roxborough State Park. Each volunteer worked 4 hours from 8am-noon.
Successes and Challenges: Challenge: The project work site was a half mile walk from the parking area. Once that section was complete, it was another mile to another patch of work to be completed. There was little shade for the project but luckily the sky was filled with clouds for most of the morning. The project was the same weekend as the large Breckenridge project so loppers had to be shared and futher tools were provided by Douglas County.
Successes: Lots of trail cleared - Luke Thornton from Douglas County was very pleased. This work was of great importance to Douglas County who doesn't have the resources to complete this kind of work. The Highline Canal trail job is a lesser used trail for them, so it gets put to a lower priority. Volunteers were treated to a lunch afterwards from Mission Continues (Prince Thomas Bar-B-Que & Catering). There was also great weather on the day of the project. We were able to get by without needing a port-o-potty on the trail. Tools were successfully shuttled and staged at the project site via trail gate access by Douglas County. Identifing volunteers who were willing to walk to the farther work site was helpful when splitting up crews.
Lessons Learned: Bringing a full cambro from Starbucks was way too much. A couple of travelers for summer projects should be sufficient for projects of up to 50. I had to pour out most of the coffee. Even if the directions seem easy and in cell reception, some volunteers were still looking for the VOC road signs.
Special Notes: N/A
Stewardship Education: Getting people to a trail that isn't used frequently is always a great thing. It opened the eyes of many that the trail they were working on was part of a 71 mile system. Also, Luke Thornton from Douglas County talked about the history of the canal and how it's still maintained by Denver Water.
Key Concerns or Comments from Staff or Volunteers: Besides praise for the project's partnerships and delicious free food that was provided, there were no specific comments on the project. We did have a few people using the trail by horse, foot, and bike that thanked us for the work we were doing.
Description of Accidents/Incidents: N/A (wahoo!)
Description of Work Completed:
Details
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