Trail trainings coming this summer!
Resilient trails react to and interpret the landscapes through which they pass. Trail stewardship asks us to see and assess how the trail is functioning not through our eyes, but through the Trails eyes. How do we sustain these gifts of the Trail?
In 2018, the SHTA launched the Trail Renewal Program, a strategic effort aimed to improve the Trail where it is most needed and fortify the trail experience to withstand ever increasing use and risk of unwanted environmental impacts.
To grow our collective knowledge of sustainable trail building and design techniques, we are hosting 4 virtual and 4 on-trail trainings that explore two topics: “Developing Your Trail Eyes – Assessing and Developing a Plan for Trail Sustainability”, and “People On, Water Off – Building & Maintaining a Resilient Superior Hiking Trail.”
Virtual trainings take place Thursday and Friday August 5 and 6, from 7pm – 8:30pm, and Friday and Saturday, August 6 and 7, from 8am – 9am. You are welcome to participate in one or all the presentations by signing up here. Attendance at these virtual trainings is unlimited — you are welcome to sign up even if you have never volunteered before or if you are just curious to see what efforts are being made to improve the general quality of the SHT experience.
On-trail trainings take place Saturday, August 14 in West Duluth, and Sunday, August 15, near Split Rock Lighthouse State Park. Morning sessions are 8am to noon. Afternoon sessions are 1pm to 5pm. Required tools to bring are your trail eyes and a tennis ball.
These programs are made possible by a generous grant from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Lake Superior Coastal Program. We are thrilled to welcome Trail Eyes LLC owner Tim Malzhan back to the north shore to share lessons learned from his 20+ years of designing and building resilient and imaginative trail experiences.
Virtual Dates: August 5 & 6 (People On, Water Off) and August 6 & 7 (Developing Your Trail Eyes).
On-Trail Dates: August 14 (West Duluth) and August 15 (Near Split Rock Lighthouse State Park)
Register online at this link.
Why It Matters:
Sustainably built and maintained trails save time, money, and human and natural resources. They are also a whole lot of fun to walk or run and observe nature from. By taking these courses you will develop a foundation for continuing your trail stewardship education. This will help you work smarter, bring more volunteers to the SHTA, and make the SHT more resilient.