2020-Trail Construction @ Glenmere Bird Sanctuary

Start Date-End Date: 09/19/2020-09/19/2020 Land Manager Office: City of Greeley - Natural Areas & Trails Land Manager Contact: Karen Scopel Funding Partner: Programmatic Partner: Summary: Create a natural-surface trail in Greeley on a Saturday. Description: Read Before You Register! Need-to-Know Details: We greatly appreciate you volunteering your time and energy to care for Colorado's outdoor places during COVID-19. To help provide a fun and safe experience for all, there are a few temporary changes to be prepared for: You may sign up for one or all days of this project,though we encourage multi-day registration to limit the number of interactions and potential exposure. You may only register yourself.Every volunteer must sign our digital COVID-specific forms ahead of time to be able to attend. You must provide your own food and, if desired, overnight accommodations.VOC will not be providing campsites or meals at this time. You must bring a face mask and work gloves.Pleaseclick herefor our full packing list of required and recommended items. Please come prepared to use the bathroom outdoors.VOC is not providing portalets at this time and public restrooms may be unavailable. Pleaseclick herefor more information on how to "go" outside. Cancellation & Waitlists:Due to this year's limited number of projects and volunteer spots, we expect projects to fill quickly with waitlists. If you need to cancel, please emailoutreach@voc.orgas soon as possible so we can free your spot for another volunteer and have a full workforce. If you are waitlisted for multiple projects, please call us at 303-715-1010 ext. 130 and we can help you find an open project, if available. Where You'll Be: Located just north of the University of Northern Colorado campus in Greeley, Glenmere Urban Wildlife Bird Sanctuary is a mecca for Weld County residents and wildlife alike. Glenmere offers a serene nature setting within an urban neighborhood, frequently attracting many bird species, as well as animals both large and small, who enjoy the safe haven the park provides. What You'll Do: Spend a Fall Saturday inthis beautiful area adjacent to Glenmere Park as we work to build a new, natural-surface trail for all to enjoy. You'll work along a fairly flat section to help establish the trail tread itself, install drainage structures to prevent erosion and preserve the long-term integrity of the trail, and possibly work on maintaining some nearby trails. This project is a great way to get outside and discover a new recreational area along the Front Range! Why It Matters: Residents and visitors can enjoy numerous paved trails around Greeley, but there are few natural-surface options available. These trails are in high demand: a user-created "social trail" has already developed in the area. By formalizing that route, you'll help create a more sustainable trail and open up recreational opportunities for hikers, walkers, and joggers. About Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado (VOC) Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado (VOC) is the state's oldest, largest, and leading outdoor stewardship nonprofit organization. Founded in 1984 to motivate and enable people to become active stewards of Colorado's natural resources, VOC has engaged nearly 120,000 people in more than 1,000 volunteer projects for a donated labor value of $24 million. Through award-winning youth and volunteer programs, leadership training, capacity-building programs, and collaborative efforts with nonprofits and land management agencies, VOC is an invaluable resource in Colorado, especially as our outdoor stewardship needs are approaching near-crisis levels. For more information, visit www.voc.org or call 303-715-1010. Latitude/Longitude: 40.407366, -104.704831 Additional Information: We greatly appreciate you volunteering your time and energy to care for Colorado's outdoor places during COVID-19. To help provide a fun and safe experience for all, there are a few temporary changes to be prepared for: You must provide your own food and, if desired, overnight accommodations.VOC will not be providing campsites or meals at this time. You must bring a face mask and work gloves.Pleaseclick herefor our full packing list of required and recommended items. Please come prepared to use the bathroom outdoors.VOC is not providing portalets at this time and public restrooms may be unavailable. Pleaseclick herefor more information on how to "go" outside. Camping Available: No Physical Difficulty: Moderate High Altitude Project: No Desired Number of Volunteers: 20 Total Adult Volunteers Attended: 18 Total Youth Volunteers Attended: 0 Total Volunteer Days: 18 Total Unique Volunteers: 18 Total Volunteer Hours: 120 Staff Hours: 24 Stipend Hours: 0 Project Summary: Volunteers cleared pretty overgrown corridor along a new trail construction and constructed ~550 feet of trail. Some trail was dirt, some was crusher fine in the low, wet areas. Volunteers also installed a new set of timber steps to provide easier access to the trail. Approx 7 steps were constructed. Successes and Challenges: Successes - Volunteers worked hard and diligently and the new trail was awesome! Challenges - There was enough to mostly keep volunteers busy in the afternoon, but I wish we had outlined more clearly the additional tasks to put volunteers on so that we didn't have to check in with Chris at City of Greeley as much as we did to keep volunteers occupied. At the end, there was some standing around as the timber steps were being finished. I also felt like time management on the timber steps and toward the end of the day was not shared, but rather fell to me, which was tricky to keep Chris and our TA accountable to time. Lessons Learned: Have better, step by step trail construction notes, and have an outlined list of additional tasks volunteers can be put on to keep them busy and productive. Special Notes: Stewardship Education: Key Concerns or Comments from Staff or Volunteers: Description of Accidents/Incidents: Description of Work Completed: