Volunteer Trail Maintenace Season Opens

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Thanks to the volunteers who came out Saturday May 9th for the first maintenance outing of 2015. Fourteen volunteers joined three staff for a training session on the standards for vegetation control on the East Coast Trail.

The first part of the day included classroom instruction on standards and tools, led by Operations Manager Ed Delaney with crew leaders Vince Croft and Chris Duffy. Thanks to the City of St. John’s for the use of their training room at Robin Hood Bay landfill. Then it was an afternoon of hands on practice with saws and pruning tools on the Sugarloaf Path. The goal of the volunteer program is to keep the treadway and sight lines clear of undergrowth and hanging branches that obstruct hiking or obscure trail signage or views. In opening the treadway, cut the branch to the trunk and the trunk to the ground for safe and aesthetic effect.

The next outing is on May 30th at Brigus Head Path and everyone is welcome. No previous experience is required for pruning, says volunteer Maintenance Chair Darlene Scott, but anyone using a brush saw will need experience. Most of the work needed on Brigus Head Path will be hand pruning and removal of slash left over from heavier clearing done by staff after the Igor and Leslie storms a couple of years ago. We need to get it taken out of the sight lines on the north side of the path.

Check out details on the outing and find the link to register on our events page.

Photos by Darlene Scott (L-R):

Volunteer Dylan Goudie cleared lots of slash.
Jim Fitzgerald practices proper pruning, close to the bole, with no scarring.
Volunteer Linda Bartlett learned how to use the brush saw in a three-person team.
Lunch with a view yes, there were icebergs.