The West River Trail is now home to two new beautiful benches.
The benches were built by Stephen Shriner using a design by Aldo Leopold. Great for taking a pause along the trail, the unique design of the benches has an upper rail as a support for taking a photo, using binoculars or simply savoring the view. They are made from the same white oak lumber that Jim used for the new picnic tables.
As always, improvements to the trail are a team effort, and made possible with the help of many hands. The benches were built and installed by Steve Shriner with land clearing and installation assistance from Alex Wilson. A RiseVT Amplify grant provided the financial support. Mark Anderson of Trevett Millworks donated the white oak lumber, Jesse Wagner made the connection for the donation of the lumber, and Jesse and Mark Westa picked up and delivered the lumber to Jim.
Photos by Alex Wilson.
Brattleboro
Rice Farm Road Trailhead Sign
The West River Trail has a beautiful new sign at the Rice Farm Road trailhead.
Gratitude and huge thanks go out to Jason Cooper, Mark Westa, Steve Shriner, Malcolm Moore, and Howard Printing.
* Jason Cooper and Mark Westa put the posts in the ground last fall.
* Steve Shriner crafted and painted the signs.
* Malcolm Moore and Steve Shriner attached the signs to the posts.
* Howard Printing, enlarged and printed the map for half the cost, as a donation-in-kind.
Stop by to check out the new sign and enjoy an early spring walk on the trail!
Bag a Bean for the West River Trail
The Brattleboro Food Co-op’s Bag a Bean program is a convenient way for shoppers to donate money to local organizations. Many thanks to the Co-op for featuring The West River Trail in April. If you shop at the Brattleboro Food Co-op this month, please consider donating your beans to the West River Trail. Each Fava bean is worth 5¢ each, and helps support improvements to the West River Trail.
How does it work? For every reusable bag or container you use during your shopping trip, we will provide you with a Fava bean at the register. These Fava beans are worth 5¢ each when donated to one of the three local non-profits displayed at our exit. Each month there are three different organizations to choose from (organizations are featured on a rotating basis).
Visit or Contact:
Brattleboro Food Coop
2 Main Street
Brattleboro, VT 05301
Hours: Monday – Saturday: 7am-9pm, Sunday: 9am-9pm
River Loop Trail Closed Saturday, September 29 for Invasive Plant Treatment
The River Loop on the Riverstone Preserve will be closed on September 29th for 1 day only. There will be signs about the closure posted at the junctions of this trail with the West River Trail, and at the Rice Farm Road and Marina trail heads. We are sorry for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience as we deal with the important issue of invasive plant mitigation on this special piece of land between the river and the West River Trail.
I-91 Bridge Trail Talk July 1st
The next Trail Talk will be held July 1st. Interested participants should meet the PCL+FIGG Team at the West River Trail Marina trailhead at 9 am and the talk will begin at 9:15 am. If you would like additional information, please contact Bonnie Clark, Public Relations Officer, at bclark@pcl.com.
Springtime on the West River Trail
Spring has sprung on the West River Trail! The river is running high, the trail edges are greening up, the wildflowers are blooming, and the trees are leafing out.
Many thanks to PCL Civil Constructors, Inc. for their efforts to keep the West River Trail open during all phases of bridge construction. Trail users should exercise extreme caution at the intersections between construction access and the trail path. As an additional safety precaution, users of the West River Trail are reminded to keep pets on a leash, especially in the construction area.
Please note that demolition of the old iron bridge over Route 30 will begin by the middle of May. During bridge demolition above the trail, personnel will be stationed to provide warning to pedestrians when work is occurring overhead.
Please also note that some users have reported trees and rock slides across the trail. Enjoy the trail, but be observant, and stay safe.
If you would like additional information about the bridge construction, please contact Bonnie Clark, Public Relations Officer, at bclark@pcl.com, PCL Civil Constructors, Inc., 41 Spring Tree Road, Brattleboro, Vermont 05301, 802-251-0709, www.pcl.com.
Winter Newsletter 2013
WINTER NEWSLETTER 2013
Friends of the West River Trail
HOW DID IT GET TO BE FEBRUARY ALREADY?
We hope your holidays were happy and that your new year is going well so far!
Reports say that since the snows fell, both the upper and lower sections of the trail has been very nice for skiing and snowshoeing, (depending on the freezes and thaws, of course). I hope some of you have had a chance to get out there and enjoy this beautiful trail during the winter season!
AN INVITATION TO AN OPEN HOUSE
Doings at the Depot!
The public is invited to attend an Open House and social hour, with refreshments provided, hosted by the Friends of the West River Trail (FWRT), to be held on Tuesday, February 12, from 6:00 to 7:30 PM, in the South Londonderry Depot on Route 100.
At the Open House, visitors will be updated on the current projects involving both the West River Trail (South Londonderry to Brattleboro when completed) and the Depot itself. Recent significant advances in trail development in the Brattleboro area by the Southern Section of the Friends will be recognized.
During the social hour, the latest prize of memorabilia at the Depot will be formally introduced: a locomotive bell generously donated by William and Agnes Peele. It is believed that the bell came from one of the last regularly operated steam locomotives on the Santa Fe Railroad.
Tim Lawrence will also be on hand to present a narrated video depicting his recent experience hiking on a rail trail, one of a series he is producing, and will also, as a rail historian, update us on the status of his “Forgotten Railroads” project. Timothy W. Lawrence is Founder and Videographer, I.M.R. Films, created in 2003. Since that time, he has worked on numerous projects from online advertising for Coca-Cola and Comcast to corporate videos for companies such as Skyhorse Publishing, Living WRAP and more. He resides locally, in Windham, VT.
The Open House will be preceded at 5:30 PM by a short business meeting of the FWRT Board, which visitors are welcome to attend if they choose.
Please plan to join your friends and the Friends of the West River Trail for an enjoyable and informative evening.
BIG NEWS!
We have met our phase 1 fundraising goal! The Thomas Thompson Trust agreed to grant us $10,000 once we raised $35,000 from the community — which we have done!!! Hurray! Many, many individuals, grant-making organizations and businesses helped make this happen. Thanks to everyone who contributed!
SO, WHAT ELSE IS NEW?
Some of you may have noticed that fine crushed stone was spread on the trail late fall, starting just past the I-91 bridge and continuing for the next mile north. The material was donated by Mike Cersosimo, and the spreading and rolling was nicely done by Jason Evans. If you were able to walk or ride on that section of trail before the snow fell, you would have noticed that it’s a nice improvement to a section that was fairly bumpy due to exposed tree roots and holes. In the spring, we will see how the new surface withstood the winter and will welcome feedback on it. If the feedback is positive, we will explore whether other areas of trail could benefit from the same treatment.
We have two beautiful kiosks in place! They were built and installed by Morse and Mindell builders. One is at the Marina trailhead and the other at the Rice Farm Rd trailhead. Many thanks for this donation from Jonathan Morse, Stephen Mindell and their crew. Thanks also to Home Depot in Keene, NH for selling us the supplies at a discount.
We received a grant from the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps! We’ll be getting a crew of youth for 4 weeks this summer. They will focus on building the new section of trail from Rice Farm Rd to the quarry on Quarry Rd, and on installing bridges.
SAFETY ON THE TRAIL
The Brattleboro Police Department Bicycle Patrol has been patrolling the lower section of the trail two to three times weekly (when it is clear enough of snow) to look for any safety or maintenance issues. We encourage all trail users to notify us of any safety or maintenance issues you encounter, by emailing at lowersection@westrivertrail.org.
PHOTO GALLERY
Check out the Gallery on the FWRT website for great photos from the trail. You’ll also see how you can send in your photos to be included in the Gallery. If the trail has been your muse and you have writings or artwork inspired by your experiences, we would love to post them on the website. Please send them in! We also welcome your blogs or comments!
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES:
Spring Workdays on the lower section: when the ground is workable and the weather is amenable, we’ll be starting these up again. Watch for an email with dates or check the website.
Volunteer Workday Coordinator: We need a volunteer or two to help Jason Cooper plan, and lead work groups on the lower section. If you are interested, please email us at: lowersection@westrivertrail.org
Website updating: We need someone with website skills to help us keep the website updated. Do you have skills you could offer? Contact us at lowersection@westrivertrail.org
Posting information on our new kiosks: We need a volunteer to fill our kiosks, by posting signs, maps, announcements, photos, information of interest.
Enjoy the winter, and we look forward to seeing you on the trail!
Best,
Kathleen, for the Friends of the West River Trail
Friends of the West River Trail – Lower Section, 138 Elliot Street, Suite 3, Brattleboro VT 05301
http://www.westrivertrail.org
THE WEST RIVER TRAIL 