Thanks to support from generous donors, this year FWC committed to a new partnership with the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps (VYCC). VYCC is a nonprofit located in Richmond, Vermont, whose mission is to "take action and build community by working and learning together with the land." Each year VYCC trains and organizes youth crews to do meaningful projects throughout Vermont and New Hampshire and provide impactful work experience for young people, all of which align with the work we do each day at FWC.
VYCC Trail Crew at Timberlake
FWC is responsible for maintaining a vast network of trails throughout Plymouth and Mount Holly, Vermont. To help keep our trails accessible and resilient in the face of climate change, we hired the VYCC trail crew for two weeks to perform important maintenance tasks to improve the trails. The team was comprised of seven crew members and two crew leaders, all extremely hard working and kind. We were able to host them at the Farm & Wilderness facilities, which reduced their travel time and increased the amount of time they were able to spend on the trails. The group expressed gratitude to have the chance to stay at F&W and learn more about our organization, with one crew member sharing "it feels like were are going to summer camp all over again!"
For the first week, the crew focused on corridor clearing on the Tiny Mountain and Gork trails, both located near Lake Ninevah and open to the public for recreation year round. This work involved clipping branches that were growing into the trail, redefining the trail tread by removing leaves and duff, and cleaning out water bars and other drainage features. A common tool used by trail crews to reestablish trail tread and clear leaf litter is a McLeod, which has a two sided blade attached to a long wooden handle. One side of the blade has thick tines that form a coarse rake, which is helpful in removing leaf litter, duff, and soil from a trail. The other side is a sharp blade that works well to cut sod and roots and to pull soil from one place to another. The end of the McLeod can also be used to tamp down soil and loose gravel.
VYCC trail crew use McLeods to redefine trail tread on the Tiny Mountain Trail
Completed Corridor on the Tiny Mountain Trail
The second week was based at the Barn Day Camp and Timberlake, where the crew did technical work installing and replacing timber steps and creating drainage features. These improvements will help the trails shed water more sustainably and be easier for campers to traverse. The work at the Barn Day Camp involved removing a flight of old cedar steps and rebar, determining appropriate step spacing, and creating new steps from Vermont grown cedar logs. The logs were cut to length then the bark was removed from the cedar using bark spuds and drawknives, which helps prevent the log from rotting prematurely and attracting wood boring insects.
VYCC crew member removes bark from a cedar log using a bark spud
The work at Timberlake involved removing and replacing several flights of old cedar steps, one near the TL Upper Lodge and one in the Barns and Gardens area near the Packard Shed. The crew also redefined the trail tread with a technique called benching where the McLeod is used to cut the adjacent backslope and out slope of the trail, which helps users know exactly where to walk and sheds water more sustainably. Closer to the Packard Shed, the crew installed more cedar steps, created more efficient water bars, and established a brand new step over drain in a section of trail that was previously affected by erosion.
VYCC Crew Member performs a bench cut on the TL Barns and Gardens Trail
In addition, FWC's Conservation Coordinator Elisabeth was able to work alongside VYCC for part of the time as the crew was eager to educate about important considerations when doing trail work and how to use the tools either property technique for safety and efficiency.
We are thrilled to establish a partnership with VYCC, whose mission and values are aligned with FWC and Farm & Wilderness. Hiring crews like VYCC allow us to complete needed trail work projects in an efficient and professional way, all while providing meaningful work for young professionals. We are incredibly impressed by their work and hope to hire the VYCC crew again in the near future to continue to improve our vast network of trails!
Click here to learn more about VYCC!