Description
Start Date-End Date: 06/16/2018-06/16/2018
Land Manager Office: City of Colorado Springs Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Service
Land Manager Contact: David Deitemeyer
Funding Partner:
Programmatic Partner:
Summary: Join us Father's Day Weekend to build a new trail in the Colorado Springs foothills.
Description: About the Stewardship Site:
Just a short drive from downtown Colorado Springs, Helen Hunt Falls is a stunning destination in North Cheyenne Canyon Park that visitors can admire from above on a wooden bridge, or from below via a short hike. The area also offers a recently renovated visitor center with interpretive exhibits and guided hikes; its proximity to Colorado Springs and ease of access results in more than 100,000 visitors each year!
About the Volunteer Experience:
Volunteers ages 14+ are invited to join us Father's Day Weekend to build a new trail to Helen Hunt Falls! After enjoying a light breakfast provided by our volunteer Crew Chefs, volunteers will get to work on constructing a sustainable route for visitors to visit Helen Hunt Falls directly from the parking lot. For volunteers interested in a more challenging experience, there will be a few work sections that require more technical rock and structure work. Lunch will also be provided.
About the Overall Impact:
With only two existing routes for visitors to enjoy Helen Hunt Falls, volunteers will help reduce crowds at the site by constructing the new trail. Once the North Cheyenne Canyon Master Plan is updated, the new loop trail will act as an important connection to the nearby Columbine Trail and Silver Cascade Falls.
Need-to-Know Details:
Minors:All youth under 16mustbe accompanied by an adult 21 years or older on single-day projects.
Cancellation:Our land manager partners rely on VOC volunteers to accomplish critical stewardship needs, and our projects often have wait lists. If you need to cancel, pleasecontact Jamie Burkeat 303-715-1010 ext. 116 as soon as possible so we can free your spot for another volunteer and have a full workforce.
Latitude/Longitude: 38.7887223, -104.904659
Additional Information:
Camping Available: No
Physical Difficulty: Easy, Moderate
High Altitude Project: No
Desired Number of Volunteers: 75
Total Adult Volunteers Attended: 78
Total Youth Volunteers Attended: 5
Total Volunteer Days: 83
Total Unique Volunteers: 83
Total Volunteer Hours: 710
Staff Hours: 34.5
Stipend Hours: 0
Project Summary: Overall the project went well. The volunteers did complete a lot of work to the best of their ability considering the terrain. Accomplishments included:1,305 linear feet of new trail, 500 linear feet of refurbished trail, 600' of social trail closure, 9 retaining walls, 7 mono-walls, 6 sets or stairs, 3 creek crossings with stepping stones (boulders), 11 sediment capture drainage structures
The priorities of the project were changed slightly on project day. our TA was expecting to have rock staged at the area where a bench was supposed to be placed, but the day of the project that rock was not staged. This had changed the plans of our land manager, he stated to our TA that he was disappointed in the change of plans for the trail priorities.
Volunteers were having a lot of fun, and everyone had a task to complete. This helped make for a cohesive crew experience. A fair amount of people stayed until the end of the work day (roughly 3:30) for the raffle prizes. The snacks and beverages helped people stick around.
Successes and Challenges: The anticipated kitchen area, parking, and staging areas were all a couple miles apart from each other, which initially lead to some shuttling and parking questions. The initial picnic area we picked was already booked by another party. We thought this might cause issues, but it turned out to work out for the better. We ended up staging our registration/breakfast much closer at the Bruinn Inn Picnic Area, closer to the project site and the tool staging area.
The shuttle service worked great! David and another city employee ran a school bus and a 15 passenger van. The shuttle pick up was staged in the parking lot just south (across the small creek) of the N Cheyenne lot. Shuttles ran from 6:45-4:30PM.
Priscilla and the crew leaders were scheduled to have a crew leader meeting at 7 AM, but that meeting did not take place until 7:45. Priscilla had to flag parts of the trail that morning. This did not necessarily cause any challenges, but we started a little later (8:15)
Lessons Learned: To give volunteers plenty of time to check in, grab breakfast, and make lunch, the shuttles will have to run earlier than you may think. The shuttles ran from 6:45 AM-4:30 PM, but it may have been better to begin shuttles a little earlier than this. Maybe 6:20/6:30?
At this project I tested giving out the 3/5/10 swag during check in and registration. This worked out well. This provided the opportunity for me to meet and chat with volunteers, and for volunteers to feel recognized and appreciated.
Although I had emailed our land manager and TA several days beforehand to confirm our priority sections for the work day, it might be best to schedule a phone call amongst the three of you a couple days ahead of project day to make sure that everyone is on the same page with the expectations of the work that will be completed. The morning of the project it appeared as though our land manager and TA were not on the same page with which sections to address first.
With the work that was completed in this project, it was important to have crew leaders that have some background in retaining walls/mono walls, and overall rock structures.
Special Notes: Helen Hunt Falls is a highly trafficked area, with many of those visitors being non-local. The work that was completed will make the area more sustainable for the thousands of people that travel to visit this specific site. We are maintaining the area not only for the local visitors that make their way to the area frequently but creating a destination for folks that are visiting the area for the first time. We also had a special guest from the VOC Board, Jeff Trujillo. Friends of Cheyenne Caon were also present. The Friends were working on a separate part of the trail amongst their own crew.
Stewardship Education:
Key Concerns or Comments from Staff or Volunteers: The area this project was in was sandy and dry. The work areas that were not under the falls, or by the stream were bone dry. Creating trail and creating rock structures in this area was certainly a challenge. The area is comprised of Pikes Peak granite. This type of rock is very crumbly, which can make the rock work somewhat challenging. It was very common to walk through an area someone was working in, and have the gravel fall beneath your feet. The outslope of people's work area was constantly being treaded out and having to be re-made.
Description of Accidents/Incidents: No accidents/incidents
Description of Work Completed:
Details
| 14 and older |
