‘Love Maine Trails Month’ - an Island Trail Work Experience
My partner and I had a camping trip planned in Downeast Maine at the end of July, which just so happened to be at the near end of the inaugural Love Maine Trails Month- a month that aims to harness the collective power of Maine’s organizations and volunteers to engage in critical trail work projects caring for the trails we love here in Maine.
As the Project Coordinator for the Maine Trails Coalition, I wanted to participate in a Love Maine Trails Month event with an organization I was unfamiliar with. Having organized and attended trail work projects outside of Maine, I have a fair understanding of what to expect and what the challenges may be for stewardship groups, but there is nothing like experiencing it for myself. Plus, trail work on an island- yes, please!
We used the last day of our vacation to volunteer, and signed up for a Maine Island Trail Association (MITA) trail work day which was hosted in partnership with the Island Heritage Trust. The Maine Island Trail Association is the organization that works with landowners to connect over 250 islands and mainland sites for day use or overnight camping, which together make up a 375-mile water trail covering the length of the Maine coast. The Island Heritage Trust is a non-profit land trust in the Deer Isle area dedicated to conserving distinctive landscapes and natural resources, maintaining public access to valued trails, shoreline and islands, and providing educational programming for all ages.
I was impressed with the confirmation email and online waiver I was able to sign in advance. The Stewardship Coordinator for this region at MITA, Maria Jenness, was really great at sending prompt information about where we were meeting, parking options, and packing list- all very helpful when volunteering with a group for the first time. I’d never traveled to a trail work site by boat, so I found the footwear reminder (water shoes and closed-toe trail shoes) helpful.
For this volunteer trail work day our project was on Wreck Island, an island owned and stewarded by the Island Heritage Trust. We arrived at the meeting location in Stonington, amidst downtown summer construction which delayed our ability to park, but it all worked out. We boarded the boat along with Maria and two other excited volunteers and headed out to meet the rest of our team on the island.
On the Island
Once we landed on Wreck Island, Maria moved the boat to a safe location based on the outgoing tide. Alex Drenga, Stewardship Director for the Island Heritage Trust met us there. Along with Alex, was Jessica Crandell, a Richard G. Rockefeller Conservation Intern for the Island Heritage Trust and two additional volunteers. Alex and Maria explained more about their organizations and partnership, the island, and our project for the day.
As Wreck Island is for day-use only, it is a popular stop over for boaters. The goal was to continue work laying out a new, primitive character trail that will loop around the exterior of the island. We checked out a completed section of the trail, then turned around, and followed flagging tape looped around tree branches to begin our work.
Trail Work Time
Our group worked to keep the trail narrow by pruning any trees and shrubs just enough to allow a tall person to walk along safely (no sticks in the eyes). We tried to maintain a good line of sight so hikers can see a blaze from near the last blaze, and/or be able to identify the trail based on trail surface or other visual cues. We tossed clipped branches several feet off the trail. We carried on conversations and helped each other out if we needed an extra hand. We kept a safe distance from Maria and Alex who were using chainsaws to clear any fallen trees or branches blocking the new trail.
After a lovely break for lunch, including a swim break for those interested, we continued to lop and define the new narrow path for at least another hour and a half before we headed back to the boats for our ride back to Stonington.
Trail Work Takeaways
Volunteering connects people to the land and each other. Two of the other volunteers on the trip were repeat volunteers on MITA volunteer days, each with different connections and passions connected to or inspired by being close to the water. My partner said something that stuck with me, saying, “I volunteer because it is a reciprocal relationship- I get as much, if not more out of it. It’s about building relationships.”
Give yourself even more time than you think you need to get to a trail work day, especially during summer construction season. Have everything you need packed and ready to go once you arrive. Some groups take a while to circle up, but the more ready you are, the more time everyone will get to spend on the project.
You don’t have to know anything about trail work to help with a volunteer day. Though some trail work sessions do require some technical trail building or maintenance experience, many do not, and not every project related to a trail is actual trail work. Volunteering one day can make a difference.
Get your feet wet with a local project first. See what you can do in your town. Use Maine Trail Finder to find trails near you, and then see what organization maintains those and get involved.
If you cannot access transportation to get to a trail work day, check with the organization to see if they have any volunteers who may be traveling from near your location who can help you get there. Though none of us on this trail work day were local, we were all within an hour and a half away. Part of the allure of this project for me was being able to visit a location I would not see nor be able to get to on my own.
We hope you get a chance to give back to Maine’s trails. You don’t need to wait until the next Love Maine Trails Month to get involved!
To Learn More about how to volunteer to give back to trails visit the Maine Trail Finder story on this topic.
#LoveMaineTrails #LoveMaineTrailsMonth
