Description
Start Date-End Date: 08/15/2021-08/15/2021
Land Manager Office: City and County of Denver - Parks and Recreation
Land Manager Contact: Bob Finch
Funding Partner:
Programmatic Partner:
Summary: Registration opens June 1. Pick one or both weekend days to give back to this popular Front Range trail!
Description: Project photo by F4D Studios
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. Please click here for our full packing list of required and recommended items.
All volunteers must keep a mask within reach at all times.We will ask you to wear a mask when working closely together (within arm's reach) on a task, such as moving a large rock.
If you are not vaccinated,we encourage you to reconsider your participation at this time due to the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant. People who are unvaccinated are more at risk of serious illness, hospitalization, and death. If you choose to volunteer while unvaccinated, you must wear a mask for the duration of the project.
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 email outreach@voc.org as 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 west of Denver and Morrison is Corwina Park, 298 acres of the protected open space spread throughout Bear Creek Canyon. The popular Panorama Point Trail is approximately a 1.2-mile hike that leads to a gorgeous overlook offering views that span west toward Mount Evans overlooking Kittridge and Evergreen.
What You'll Do:
Help perform critical trail maintenance tasks on this Sunday project! Open to volunteers ages 16+, there will be something for everyone from drainage structures to new step construction, providing a great opportunity to explore natural areas close to Denver and give back to your public lands. Please note this project requires hiking about 45 minutes to the project site.
Why It Matters:
By restoring and re-establishing the Panorama Point Trail, you will create a safer and more sustainable experience for hikers that will protect the unique cross-section of plant communities and habitat in this deservedly popular and wonderfully accessible natural space getaway.
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: 39.662068, -105.283162
Additional Information: 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 meals or campsites at this time.
You must bring work gloves.Pleaseclick herefor our full packing list of required and recommended items.
If you are fully vaccinated,you may work without a mask. If you are not yet fully vaccinated or if you prefer to wear a mask for any reason, please continue to wear a mask on VOC projects. We will have spare masks available if needed.
Camping Available: No
Physical Difficulty: Moderate, Difficult
High Altitude Project: No
Desired Number of Volunteers: 22
Total Adult Volunteers Attended: 19
Total Youth Volunteers Attended: 1
Total Volunteer Days: 20
Total Unique Volunteers: 20
Total Volunteer Hours: 160
Staff Hours: 11
Stipend Hours: 0
Project Summary: VOC partnered with City of Denver, Parks and Recreation to complete critical trail maintenance on the Panorama Point Trail in Corwina Park. This trail was constructed in 2000 by VOC and has been maintained since then by our organization. The trail is very popular, especially on weekends due to its proximity to the Front Range. The high traffic on this trail has caused various erosion issues that needed correcting.
At 7am, VOC staff arrived on site to stage tools and set up registration. At 7:30, volunteers began arriving and checked-in for the day. At this time, the 5 Crew Leaders hiked up the trail with Technical Advisor, Bob Finch, to look at the sections of work and have various questions answered. Once all the volunteers arrived, they were briefed on VOC and the site, and were then broken into crews. Crew Leaders gave a tool safety talk and we began hiking to he worksite at 8:30 am. Volunteers helped haul the remaining timber up on site to the various locations of timber step construction. This was a laborious process, but we were able to bring all the timbers up trail. Work mainly included timber step construction, out slopping, narrowing trail with slash, and adding drains.
By 11 am, the trail was fairly busy and many passerby's slowed the work down. Crews were able to enjoy shade along the trail corridor, which helped keep people efficient and safe. By 1:30pm, the heat was starting to affect crews and volunteers were slowing down. By 3:15 pm, crews had no energy left and volunteers were sent home for the day. We were able to construct 3 timber steps, as well as narrow 200 feet of trail, outslope 300 feet of trail, build 2 rock steps, 50 feet rerouted, and closed 150 feet of social trails.
Successes and Challenges: Success:
The shade kept volunteers safe and efficient for much of the day
Having 4 crew leaders allowed for smaller, more efficient crews
A few crew leaders have constructed timber steps with Bob Finch before, and knew his needs and particular leadership style
Challenges
The trail was not closed to the public, and the traffic on the trail throughout the weekend caused crews to work more slowly
The TA, Bob Finch, was difficult to communicate with leading up to the project, this left a lot of last minute coordination needed.
Lessons Learned:
Special Notes: The Panorama Point Trailhead accommodated our group size, but would not accommodate any larger group sizes.
Stewardship Education:
Key Concerns or Comments from Staff or Volunteers:
Description of Accidents/Incidents: N/A
Description of Work Completed:
Details
| 16 and older |
