2020-Weekday Evening: Stratton Springs Path Improvements @ Stratton Open Space - 10/8/2020

Start Date-End Date: 10/08/2020-10/08/2020 Land Manager Office: City of Colorado Springs Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Service Land Manager Contact: David Deitemeyer Funding Partner: Programmatic Partner: Summary: Spend a few evening hours improving access to this popular spot in Colorado Springs. Description: Photo courtesy of Wesley Trimble, American Hiking Society 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 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.VOC will not be providing 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. 116 and we can help you find an open project, if available. Where You'll Be: Just outside of North Cheyenne Canyon near Colorado Springs, Stratton Open Space is visited by an estimated 150,000 people each year to enjoy the area's many hiking and biking trails, which travel through five distinct ecosystems. The open space also connects users to the Pikes Peak Greenway and a trail network in Bear Creek Regional Park. What You'll Do: Spend a few hours on a Thursday evening in Colorado Springs to help reroute a significant access trail to Stratton Open Space. Over the weekend, you'll help close the old route and replace it with a new, more sustainable trail. Those who enjoy more technical tasks may have the opportunity to construct small timber pedestrian bridges, install rock steps, and build erosion control structures such as check dams. Why It Matters: Stratton Open Space is a local favorite and the trail you help build will serve as an integral access point for residents looking to enjoy Stratton Open Space and its trail connections to North Cheyenne Caon, the Pike National Forest, Bear Creek Regional Park, and the Pikes Peak Greenway. By building a more sustainable route, your efforts will help protect the beauty and natural resources of this area for years to come. 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 125,000 people in more than 1,000 volunteer projects for a donated labor value of $25 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: 38.795403, -104.857463 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.VOC will not be 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: 12 Total Adult Volunteers Attended: 12 Total Youth Volunteers Attended: 0 Total Volunteer Days: 12 Total Unique Volunteers: 12 Total Volunteer Hours: 36 Staff Hours: 1 Stipend Hours: 0 Project Summary: A handful of volunteers spent Wednesday and Thursday evening in Stratton Open Space near Colorado Springs, where they continued to reroute the Stratton Springs Path. Each weeknight project was only three hours long, but time wasn't an issue: they moved nearly 70 rocks and boulders and countless buckets of soil; built 3 rock steps and over 50 feet of walls; and improved about 500 feet of the trail tread itself. A huge thanks to volunteer Priscilla Marbaker for leading the projects and to all of our volunteers, including photographer Cindy Bond who captured these shots from Wednesday evening! Successes and Challenges: Overall it seems like this was a great event. Pictures showed some protocol breaking, including one volunteer who is never pictured with a mask on. Priscilla was the last adopter to go this year. Her training was way back in May. Probably should've given her some refresher info. Lessons Learned: Special Notes: Stewardship Education: Key Concerns or Comments from Staff or Volunteers: Description of Accidents/Incidents: Description of Work Completed: