New trail above Scotch Creek invites deeper appreciation
The Shuswap, British Columbia – “It’s a true wonder of the Shuswap,” says North Shuswap regional director, Denis Delisle....
The Shuswap Trail Alliance is hosting the second annual Workshop in the Woods (2013), on April 19 and 20. This workshop is part of the Shuswap Trail Alliance Stewardship Program, and is intended for people wanting to learn the ropes of trail building and maintenance. The course runs on Friday evening and Saturday all day (April 19, 20). Saturday's session includes lunch. There is a $45 fee for the course, which will be waived in exchange for three volunteer days worked on the trails during the season. All ages of volunteers are invited to take the workshop.
The in-classroom portion of the workshop will be held at the College on Friday evening from 7-9pm. It will cover: the background and theory behind trail building; explain the STA and its role in the community; discuss the Stewardship Program, and how people can get involved; demonstrate the Trail Report system; discuss the Trail Monitoring system and how people can become "citizen scientists" on the trails; and generally give volunteers a sense of what it takes to build and maintain a high quality trail system that people enjoy using.
The Saturday field session will be held at Pilliated Woods from 9am-4pm. Participants will learn hands-on skills: trail planning and design, trail building, trail maintenance and trail monitoring. Several trail building experts will each take a group and work with them. This year there is an advanced session on "armouring and cornering", for people who have trail building experience and would like to learn new techniques. The field portion of the workshop will support the Pilliated Woods stewardship group, which has been working diligently on caring for the trails in this area.
The Shuswap Trail Alliance hosts the Workshop in the Woods in an effort to train STA stewards to a standard of practice and care that is universal throughout the Shuswap. The Shuswap Trail system is huge, and several people currently volunteer to care for it. Some volunteers wonder, "am I doing this right?", and others would like to get involved as volunteers but wonder how. This workshop answers these questions and gives the proper training for safe and effective trail volunteer work. Trail maintenance and building is a satisfying way to volunteer. People report that it gives a sense of completion and accomplishment. At the end of a trail volunteer day, participants go home with a satisfied grin on their face - especially the ones who thought to bring their bike to test out their newly completed section of trail!
Last year 40 people attended the Workshop in the Woods, which led to exciting involvement of the local Rap Attack team partnering with the STA on trail work throughout the region, and several successful volunteer days throughout the year where our stewards were able to contribute significantly.
Contact Carmen Massey at 250-835-8766 or email ctmassey@hotmail.com to register or find out more information about the Workshop in the Woods 2013. Maximum 40 participants will be accepted into this year's workshop. If you are unable to attend the workshop, but would like to volunteer for the Shuswap Trail Alliance, contact Phil McIntyre-Paul, at 250-804-1964 or email at phil@shuswaptrails.
