Description
Start Date-End Date: 07/07/2023-07/07/2023
Land Manager Office: City and County of Denver - Parks and Recreation
Land Manager Contact: Coleman Loughery
Funding Partner:
Programmatic Partner:
Summary:
Purpose
When trees grow in clusters, they compete for moisture, nutrients, and sunlight. This weakens the trees and makes them more susceptible to bark beetles and diseases, which in turn leads to dead trees - perfect fuel for wildfires. By reducing the density of Dedisse Park's Ponderosa pines, you will reduce the impact of wildfires and help the trees grow stronger and the forest more resilient.
Role
Help forests thrive in Dedisse Park! Join your colleagues to take part in simple, but important, tasks designed to improve the health of native Ponderosa pines and reduce the severity of wildfires. The work will involve using handsaws to cut smaller trees at ground level, which will then be collected and chipped at a later date.
Description: With forested foothills, picnic areas, and the popular Evergreen Lake House, Dedisse Park provides a variety of recreational opportunities right in the heart of Evergreen. The nearly 100-year old park is managed by Denver Mountain Parks and connects visitors with Jefferson County's Alderfer-Three Sisters park through a series of trails on the North side.
Latitude/Longitude: -105.334898 ' W, 39.625501 'N
Additional Information:
Camping Available: No
Physical Difficulty: Moderate
High Altitude Project: No
Desired Number of Volunteers: 25
Total Adult Volunteers Attended:
Total Youth Volunteers Attended:
Total Volunteer Days:
Total Unique Volunteers:
Total Volunteer Hours: 0
Staff Hours: 11
Stipend Hours: 0
Project Summary: On Friday, July 7th, volunteers from Lockheed Martin met in a part of Dedisse Park to help Denver Mountain Parks staff stash downed branches in slash piles. The piles will be burned as part of a controlled burn this winter when snowpack is sufficient.
Successes and Challenges: Successes: Volunteers created 32 6 foot by 6 foot by 6 foot slash piles in 4 hours. The work was easy to understand and the land manager gave an informative talk about the importance of stopping fire before it crosses a ridgeline into a populated area. The land manager continued to educate volunteers throughout the project about types of wood to gather, size and formation of the "ideal" slash pile, and elements of a healthy/resilient pine forest. Lockheed Martin employees were dresses appropriately for the work with long sleeves/pants, and closed-toed shoes. They worked easily together as a group although some didn't know each other prior to the project.
Challenges: About half of the group did not follow the Google pin mapped directions and headed to the main entrance of Dedisse Park. This caused them to arrive about 1/2 hour late, but I was able to delay the project start time without too many complaints from the volunteers who showed up on time and ready to work. It was a hot day and making sure volunteers drank enough water was a consistent challenge throughout the day. Folks tended to want to keep on working without much of a break. Ultimately, all volunteers managed their water intake appropriately and no one left the project letting me know they felt ill from dehydration or heat.
Lessons Learned: - Allow for extra time to get water from nearby Wulf Recreation Center
- Specify in the reminder email to follow Google pin (do not just type in "Dedisse Park" into Google Maps)
- Remind volunteers to check that they have a right and a left glove before hiking away from tool cache
- Have volunteers mark completed slash piles with a flag, so that it is easier to count later on
Special Notes: N/A
Stewardship Education: N/A
Key Concerns or Comments from Staff or Volunteers: N/A
Description of Accidents/Incidents: N/A
Description of Work Completed:
Details
| 18 and older |
