Friends of Haystack Improve Popular Hiking Trail
The Friends of Haystack, who acquired the summit of beautiful Haystack Mountain in Pawlet, Vermont in 2012 to insure its availability to the public, forever is going to be working on a trail improvement project with the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps (VYCC). The project is made possible by a grant from the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation Recreational Trails Program and in partnership with the Nature Conservancy Vermont Chapter and the Vermont Land Trust who have conserved over a thousand acres of the beautiful and unique North Pawlet Hills Natural area.
The project will involve installing a footbridge over a small stream along the trail and several areas of re-routes and improvements to move the trail out of wet and highly erodible areas. The effect will be a much more user friendly trail and sustainable trail design to reduce erosion and sedimentation.
VYCC will be on site for two weeks starting July 24th. There will be 6 young people working on the project over a two week period.
The lumber for the footbridge that will be constructed was generously donated by R.K. Miles of Manchester and moved to the remote location by draft horses and the skillful horsemanship of Nick Hammond of Double Tree LLC of Shoreham, Vermont. A group of energetic volunteers then moved the lumber down the final portion of the trail to the location of the footbridge.
VYCC is an outstanding organization that connects young people with an interest in conservation and the outdoors with folks who need work done like trail construction, improvement and invasive plant control. For 31 years, VYCC has been guided by a strong conviction that young people are fully capable of working hard and making the world a better place. When given opportunities to serve, a rising generation will take personal responsibility for their actions and benefit from connections with the natural world.
Service work in a group of peers is a powerful platform to teach meaningful skills, and VYCC’s model of small teams working together on tangible projects is at the heart of the VYCC mission: to teach personal responsibility through meaningful group work that connects us to the land, community, and one another.
Friends of Haystack is dedicated to promoting conservation and outdoor pursuits in and around the community of Pawlet for the benefit of all. The group is committed to supporting projects that, through a variety of means, enrich the community experience of one of Vermont’s signature small towns.
If you love this trail and have been to the summit, consider a making a contribution to support the Friends of Haystack at http://www.friendsofhaystack.com or by mail to Friends of Haystack Inc, PO Box 201, Pawlet, Vermont 05761.
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Friends Of Haystack, Pawlet, Vermont 