Love Maine Trails Month Award Winners Announced
BATH, MAINE. 12/1/2022 — The Maine Trails Coalition (MTC) is pleased to announce the awardees for the inaugural Love Maine Trails Month (LMTM) which took place from June 25th through July 31st. Love Maine Trails Month was created to be a dedicated timeframe for a collective statewide month of trail stewardship where trail maintaining organizations, municipalities, state and federal agencies, staff and volunteers come together to perform a variety of trail work projects throughout Maine. Through data collected from participating organizations, MTC can then begin to quantify and raise awareness of the ethic of care and magnitude of scale and volunteerism required to maintain Maine’s trails.
There were 60 projects hosted by 23 organizations for the first-ever Love Maine Trails Month. Over 302 volunteers gave 3,451+ volunteer hours to 30 trails on approximately 23 miles of trails. This labor is valued at $103,357 based on the Independent Sector volunteer rate, and During LMTM, approximately 12 interns and 46 paid staff or contractors gave 1,941+ hours to trail-related projects. These numbers are just a snapshot of the massive collaborative efforts involved in taking care of the trails we love here in Maine.
Trail work opportunities were listed on Maine Trail Finder and were beginner-friendly and open to anyone interested in learning about trail maintenance. LMTM events ranged from volunteer trail crews rehabilitating critical sections of an eroded trail, enhancing under-utilized trail loops, and hosting regularly scheduled monthly stewardship days. Other projects included building new sections of trail, adding benches, improving signage and trail blazes, building a privy at an Appalachian Trail overnight site, and protecting native plants by creating a durable trail surface or through removing invasive plants from the trail corridor.
The MTC distributed $5,000 total to 6 organizations. Recipients include the Maine Appalachian Trail Club for the Most LMTM Days Hosted in One Month with projects such as their Third Mountain Maine Trail Crew who put in 720 hours during LMTM (and much more after). The Bonney Woods Corporation for Most LMTM Days Hosted Focused on 1 Project in support of their Recreational Trails Program grant project at the Powder House Trails in Farmington. The Island Heritage Trust for Most Volunteers and Volunteer Hours in 1-2 Project Days for their efforts to define a path protecting sensitive beach grass as well as work involved in opening a new preserve. The South Portland Land Trust received the Completing the Vision award for culminating a 15 year effort to complete the 2.1 mile Clark's Pond Loop Trail. Recipients in the Next Generation Trail Stewards category were the Portland Parks Conservancy (Portland Youth Corps) and Teens to Trails for their valuable work engaging teens in their community and the outdoors through various trail work projects.
Gabe Perkins, co-coordinator of the MTC and Executive Director of Inland Woods + Trails believes, “that ever since MTC was formed the idea of supporting not just shiny new trails, but also providing opportunities to support Maine’s existing trails is paramount. We also know of the immense volunteer effort that hundreds of trail groups utilize across the state and we wanted to showcase some of that work.”
The MTC plans to build upon Love Maine Trails Month in 2023, with plans to organize a month in June to capture work involved in maintaining trails used primarily during busy summer and fall season, and has plans to add a Love Maine Trail Month in November for trails used more in winter. Trails do not maintain themselves and need volunteer labor and dedicated funding to improve, repair and maintain.
If you believe that trails need love, please visit MaineTrailsCoalition.org to learn more and get involved.
Love Maine Trails Month By the Numbers
3,451+: Total number of volunteer hours for all aligned LMTM work days
$103,357+: Value of Volunteer Labor that went into trails during LMTM events
1,941+: Total number of paid hours for paid staff, interns or contractors
302+: Total number of volunteers for all aligned LMTM work days
98: Total overall number of volunteer trail work days hosted (listed + unlisted)
60: Total number of LMTM official listings
64% accomplished their project goals
60% reported that new volunteers showed up
46: Total number of staff or contractors
12: Total number of interns (probably more, and possibly included in staff number)
30+: Total number of Trails Improved
23+: Miles of trails improved
23: Total participating groups
Participating Organizations
About: Maine Trails Coalition (MTC) was formed in 2019 as a statewide voice for trail users, supporters, and advocates. Trails provide enormous benefits to the communities they connect, from bolstering local economies and public safety to supporting healthier people and environments. MTC's mission is to champion the establishment, use, and stewardship of all types of trails in Maine, and its Leadership Team is committed to advancing the trails movement on behalf of the communities and people who live, work, visit, and play all across the state.
