• About
  • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Media
  • #outfam
  • NEWSLETTER

Outdoor Families Magazine

Where Families and Nature Unite

  • HOME
  • REWILDING
  • OUTDOOR EDUCATION
  • OUTDOOR GEAR
  • OUTDOOR FAMILY TRAVEL
  • GETTING OUTDOORS

Young Trail Volunteers Learn Value of Sweat Equity

April 15, 2015 by Erin Kirkland Leave a Comment

  • Share337
  • Tweet1
  • Reddit
  • Pocket
  • Flipboard
Young Trail Volunteers Learn Value of Sweat Equity - Outdoor Families Magazine
Washington Trails Association teen volunteers are all smiles during a work party. [Image courtesy WTA]
by Erin Kirkland

Washington state is well known for a wide range of recreational opportunities. From the dry desert in its eastern corners to dense rain forests of the far west, Washington is home to thousands of miles of hiking, biking, skiing, climbing, and water trail systems. On any given weekend, crowds of outdoor enthusiasts take to the hills, eager for a day or two spent enjoying the scenery and atmosphere for which Washington is famous.

But all this activity comes with a hefty price paid by the most popular hiking trails, especially those along busy I-90 and I-5 freeway corridors within 100 miles of Seattle. Here, land managers and trail crews struggle to keep up with an ever-growing demographic of weekend warriors, families, and hiking groups, and it is this suburban reach that inspired a longtime advocacy organization toward a more concentrated effort to protect and preserve valuable trail systems.

In 1993, Washington Trails Association, based in Seattle, launched an innovative trail maintenance volunteer program aimed at supporting efforts of land management agencies around the state. Founded in 1966 through its ?Signpost? news and trip reports, WTA felt strongly the tug of advocacy and stewardship. During its first year, the trail maintenance committee and a handful of volunteers completed basic projects under the watchful eye of the U.S. Forest Service, and quickly gained a reputation for efficiency and quality workmanship. Over the next several years, as the program matured, WTA?s trail maintenance crews grubbed, brushed, and cut their way along thousands of miles, earning accolades from land managers across the country.

Hard hats and gloves at the ready, a group of WTA volunteers gets ready to tackle the trail. [Image courtesy WTA]
Hard hats and gloves at the ready, a group of WTA volunteers gets ready to tackle the trail. [Image courtesy WTA]
Originally considered a primarily adult organization, WTA quickly realized the value of teaching youth to contribute toward trail maintenance projects, citing access to the outdoors, teamwork, and physical activity as markers for success. Thus, WTA began actively inviting kids and parents to participate, and developed a thriving Youth Program, welcoming kids age 10 and up to become stewards for wild areas that surround their homes and communities.

Krista Dooley is Youth Programs Manager at WTA, and coordinates hundreds of volunteer opportunities for kids, their parents, and other organizations. ?With so many schools recognizing the benefit of hands-on learning within curriculum, we are busy with service hours and group trips,? she says.

Families often attend one maintenance work party together, then send older kids on a WTA-sponsored trip just for teens, whereby kids learn far more than how to trim branches or build a staircase. Teamwork, math, science, dendrology, soils, and geology are all organically built into a WTA adventure, leading to valuable life experience that looks great on a resume or college application.

Young Trail Volunteers Learn Value of Sweat Equity - Outdoor Families Magazine
Pride in a job well done. [Image courtesy WTA]
Kids also gain valuable skills through multi-day volunteer vacation trips that take leaders, youth, supplies, and tools into Washington?s backcountry for a week of trail maintenance or construction. Camping out, sharing cooking and cleaning duties, and accomplishing a goal highlights WTA?s mission to preserve and promote the state?s trail systems in a very practical way for these future stewards. In fact, Dooley says, the kids do such a good job at their tasks that land managers often have trouble distinguishing between youth work and that of their adult counterparts.

Those young people who don?t normally engage in such hearty outdoor activities shouldn?t worry about gear for the trips, either. WTA has an established loan library for everything from boots to rain pants and gloves, just one more way the organization strives to reduce barriers that may prevent kids from engaging in the outdoors.

Younger kids have their place within the spectrum of WTA?s trail maintenance program too, Dooley emphasizes. Through an innovative online newsletter distributed every other month, parents of kids aged five through nine can browse book lists, find games and activities, and search a list of family-friendly maintenance work parties suitable for this age group. ?We have nearly 10,000 families signed up to receive the newsletter, Dooley says. ?It?s a chance for some forward momentum toward being an active part of Washington Trails Association.?

The bottom line? Community and opportunity are what make WTA tick, supporting the concept that kids who work to protect and maintain trails today are more likely to do the same as adults. Getting outdoors, supporting each other, and learning skills. It?s a formula for success at WTA, and it just keeps getting better.

Young Trail Volunteers Learn Value of Sweat Equity - Outdoor Families Magazine
Washington Trails Association has operated a thriving trail maintenance program since 1993, with thousands of hours dedicated to maintaining, protecting, and advocating for the state’s hiking trails. [Image courtesy WTA]
Washington Trails Association Trail Maintenance Program

Information: www.wta.org, (206) 625-1367.

Newsletter: ?Trail News? is a regular newsletter featuring stories, trip reports, trail maintenance updates, and all events. It?s free and can be accessed via email registration at wta.org.

Trips: WTA maintenance opportunities run the gamut – from parks to remote backcountry trails, all across the state. Youth can participate in volunteer vacations (high-school only); one-day work parties with their community or family; kid-specific work parties, just for them; specific group opportunities for schools, clubs, or other organizations; or be part of the Youth Ambassador program, taking the message of stewardship beyond the hiking trails and into area schools.

Age: Kids 10 and up are welcome to participate in WTA-led programs, but those under 14 must have a parent or guardian present at all times.

Physical requirements: WTA strives to support all volunteers who wish to give back to hiking trails. Contact the Seattle office for specific information.

Gear:?Volunteers should dress appropriately in long pants, hiking boots, and long-sleeved shirts (at least for the first part of the day), and rain gear where appropriate. Leaders provide tools, gloves, and hard hats. After five work parties, volunteers receive their own personalized hard hat, a rite of passage for many young people.

Managing Editor, Erin KirklandErin Kirkland is editor of Outdoor Families Magazine and author of Alaska On the Go: Exploring the 49th state with children. She grew up in Seattle, and is a founding member of the original Washington Trails Association Trail Maintenance Committee, volunteering as a Chief Crew Leader between 1994-1999.

Related

Filed Under: STEWARDSHIP Tagged With: April 2015, hiking, stewardship, stewardship with kids, volunteerism, Washington Trails Association

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Trending Outdoor Families Articles

  • Hiking in Asheville – 15 Must-Hike Trails For Kids
  • The 12 Best Family-Friendly Whitewater River Rafting Trips in the U.S.
  • 26 Outdoor STEM Activities For Kids
  • 35 Nature Books for Kids
  • 130+ FREE Outdoor Learning Activities For Kids Unexpectedly Stuck at Home
  • What is Wildschooling?
  • 8 Reasons Why Glamping at Capitol Reef Resort Should Be on Your Family Travel Bucket List

NATURE NEWS

A Little Nature a Day Keeps Negative Self-Feelings At Bay, Science Says

Human-Induced Climate Change Takes its Toll On Our Tallest Peaks?

Love of Nature Is In Your Genes, Research Shows

OUTDOOR FAMILIES MAGAZINE

  • HOME
  • REWILDING
  • OUTDOOR EDUCATION
  • OUTDOOR GEAR
  • OUTDOOR FAMILY TRAVEL
  • GETTING OUTDOORS

Search Outdoor Families Magazine

Outdoor Families Magazine Mission

Outdoor Families Magazine and Community strives to enrich the lives of multi-generational families internationally by providing unparalleled, award-winning outdoor and adventure related content meant to inspire a connection to, participation in and stewardship of the natural world.

Outdoor Family Community

  • View OutdoorFamiliesOnline’s profile on Facebook
  • View @outdoorfammag’s profile on Twitter
  • View outdoorfammag’s profile on Instagram
  • View outdoorfammag’s profile on Pinterest
  • View OutFam’s profile on YouTube

Privacy Policy

Outdoor Families Magazine Tree Logo - Cheryl Robertson Rosa

Copyright © 2023 · Magazine Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

  • 337
  • 1
 

Loading Comments...