Looking for a reason to get outside and get exercise during these challenging “shelter-in-place” times?
You can help our Chocorua Lake Conservancy trail and property stewards by walking trails and doing your own little ‘trail day” with family that you have been sheltering with, or with a friend while practicing social distancing recommendations.
May is our “stewardship month” when we had planned numerous trail workdays, property cleanup, chip spreading and invasive plant control projects. These will be postponed or limited to very small groups under the current circumstances, but we do want to make sure our trails are taken care of and safe.
Are you able to help? Pick a trail near you that you would like to explore and take a walk along part of it or its entirety—it’s up to you. Take your own hand saw or clippers and trim back small branches extending into the trail, remove small sticks and logs off the trail, and more importantly do some “scouting” to let us know if you see a need for trail repairs or larger tree removal. Please wear work gloves, and do not use chainsaws. We don’t want you to take risks that might put you in a position of needing medical care, for your safety as well as EMS safety.
Take a map with you (you can download one here, or if you have an iOS phone, download the Chocorua Map app) and mark where the needs are and send it along to us with details. Or use one of many phone apps that allow you to mark points, and send us a photo. (Gaia GPS has a free version that works well, and there are many others.) The more information we have the better so we can plan for a trail day later in the season or find a couple of people who can tackle the project safely.
If you’re able, take a picture or two of the work you are doing (stewardship selfies!) to share with us, and send us your name so that we can add you to our volunteer thank you list. If you have concerns to report, please email lflaccus@chocorualake.org. Questions: 603-323-6252. Thanks and be well!
Banner: Entrance to the Nature Conservancy Bolles Access Trail in early spring… Photo: Juno Lamb