volunteer workday

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Two Trail Workday Opportunities on Sunday 9/24

Calling all trail volunteers for two workday opportunities on Sunday, September 24th.

Workday #1 Morning: Pull Invasive plants on the Riverstone Preserve
Sunday, September 24, 9 am – 11 am

Workday #2 Afternoon: Dig and rake out ditches and culverts on the West River Trail
Sunday, Sept 24, Noon to 3 pm

Volunteer workday details below: 

Workday #1 Morning: Pull invasive plants on the Riverstone Preserve
When: Sunday, September 24, 9-11 AM
What: Pulling (mostly) oriental bittersweet seedlings. We’ll teach you how to identify the invasive plants, if you haven’t done this before.
Where: Meet at the west end of the Sibosen Interpretive Trail, where it meets the West River Trail. It’s about 1 1/2 miles from the Marina Trailhead and from the Rice Farm Rd Trailhead. You can also get there by parking at the Fox Farm Rd, trailhead, and walking down the access road to the WRT, turn left and you’ll soon see the sign for Sibosen Trail on the right. Biking in from the trailheads gets you there more quickly, if you’re able to do that.
What to bring: Water, work gloves, insect repellant, snack if needed.

Workday #2 Afternoon: Dig and rake out ditches and culverts on the West River Trail
When: Sunday, Sept 24, Noon to 3 pm
What: Digging and raking out ditches and culverts
Where: Meet at the Marina Trailhead at noon. 
What to Bring: Work gloves, insect repellant and a metal rake if you have one, but we will have extras on hand. Sandwiches and drinks will be provided. 

For more info and to tell us you’re coming, please email us at lowersection@westrivertrail.org. 

Thanks and we hope to see you there!

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Join the West River Trail Work Morning August 27

Please join us for a work morning to pull invasive plant species on the Riverstone Preserve! We need your help! This is fun, rewarding and important work. Please come!

When:  Sunday, August 27, 9-11 AM
What:  Pulling (mostly) oriental bittersweet seedlings
Where:  We’ll meet at the west end of the Sibosen Interpretive Trail, where it meets the West River Trail. It’s about 1 1/2 miles from the Marina Trailhead and the Rice Farm Rd Trailhead.  You can also get there by parking at the Fox Farm Rd, trailhead, and walking down the access road, to the WRT, turn left and you’ll soon see the sign for Sibosen Trail on the right. Biking in from the trailheads gets you there more quickly, if you’re able to do that.
What to bring:  water, work gloves, insect repellant, snack if needed.

We’ll teach you how to identify the invasive plants, if you haven’t done this before.

For more info and to tell us you’re coming, please email lowersection@westrivertrail.org. Thanks and we hope to see you there! It’s a pleasant way to spend a couple of hours, in a lovely place.  

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Trail Work Day Sunday July 23, 9-11 am

Seeking Volunteers for a Work Day Sunday, July 23, 9-11 AM.

What:  Pulling bittersweet seedlings and a few other invasive species on the Riverstone Preserve.

Who: Anyone interested in being outdoors, learning about invasive plants and helping to keep invasive plants under control on the Riverstone Preserve.

Where:  Meet at the north Sibosen trail head (just south of the Fox Farm Access road) at 9 AM. 

What to bring:  a water bottle, hat, sunscreen, insect repellant, work gloves, and snack if needed.

Questions and RSVP:  please contact lowersection@westrivertrail.org

We’re going to work in areas we worked a few years ago, on the western end of the Riverstone Preserve. Because of the great work we did, the seedlings that are growing there now are small and easy to pull.  We will have professional treatment done on the areas we’ve been working on last fall and earlier this summer, where the bittersweet has grown so thickly, it is not possible to take care of it manually with volunteers. 

We will talk about the option of “adopting” a plot of land on the Riverstone Preserve that will be yours to monitor and pull the invasive plants.  We anticipate it would only take one whole day a summer to do this, or you could choose to make several trips for a couple of hours each time.  Dan Healey of Long View Forest may be there to talk more about this and show you how to use an online map to know where your plot’s boundaries are. Mike Duffy, a local botanist, may also be there to help you identify the invasive plants or other plants you observe and wonder about. 

Please come!

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Trail Work Day: Sunday June 25

Please join us for a workday on the West River Trail on Sunday, June 25. 

When: Sunday, June 25 from 9 am -11 am. 
Where: Meet up at 9 am at the south Sibosen trailhead. There is a sign identifying the interpretive trail. It’s about 1 1/2 miles from the Marina trailhead.
What: Help clear invasives 
What to bring: work gloves, water, sunscreen, insect repellent. 

To RSVP and for questions:, please reach out to us at lowersection@westrivertrail.org

The May workday was a lovely day to be out on the Riverstone Preserve. Six volunteers joined in to pull Bittersweet. We worked hard, got a lot accomplished and learned a lot from each other about plants, birds, and local nature. 

Huge thanks to our May workday volunteers! Photos include Eric Reines, Jesse Wagner, Eric Pofcher, Mike Duffy and Dan Drish. The fallen tree is covered with the piles of bittersweet we pulled, letting the roots dry out and die, rather than throwing them on the ground where they could reroot. 

We will be hosting invasive work days monthly through the fall–and will announce them on this website and our west river trail facebook page. Hope you will join us!

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Invasive Plants Workday at the Riverstone Preserve

Dame's Rocket

Happy Spring! Come join other volunteers to learn to identify and pull common invasive plants on the Riverstone Preserve.

Workday details:
When: Sunday, May 21 from 9 am to 11 am
Where to meet up: The South Sibosen trailhead at 9 am. There is a sign identifying the interpretive trail. It’s about 1 1/2 miles from the Marina trailhead.
What to bring: Work gloves, water, sunscreen, insect repellent. 
RSVP and for questions: lowersection@westrivertrail.org

We will be hosting invasive work days monthly from now through the fall–and will announce them on this website and the West River Trail Facebook page. Hope you will join us!

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Trail Workday: Volunteers Needed

Volunteers are needed to help pull invasives on the Riverstone Preserve on Saturday morning, June 25, from 9 am to 11 am.

We’ll mostly be identifying and pulling the seedlings of Oriental Bittersweet. Dan Healey, our forester from Long View Forest, Inc. will not be able to be with us that day, but there will be others who can help identify the Bittersweet and some of the other invasive species that grow on the Riverstone Preserve (21 acres of land adjacent to the West River Trail).

You can walk or bike from the Marina Trailhead to the northern boundary of the Riverstone Preserve (it’s about 1 3/4 to 2 miles from the trailhead) or you can park at the Fox Farm Rd trailhead and walk or bike in from there (shorter walk).

We’ll gather where the Fox Farm access road meets the West River Trail at 9 am, so give yourself time to get to the meeting place (about 20 minutes to 1/2 hour, depending on how you’re getting there and how fast you go).  

Bring work/gardening gloves, water, a snack, insect repellant. We’ll be mostly pulling seedlings that are easy to remove. It’s satisfying work to learn to identify and keep the invasive species under control on this special piece of property. We’ll be doing this on the last Saturday morning of every month throughout the summer and fall.  

Mark the last Saturday morning of every month on your calendar for more opportunities to help with this task. Thank you and hope to see you there!

Please email lowersection@westrivertrail.org to let us know you’re coming and/or with any questions. Thank you!

Work Day Details:
West River Trail Work Day, Riverstone Preserve
Saturday June 25, 9 to 11 am (allow about 1/2 hour walk to get to meeting place)
Bring work/gardening gloves, water, a snack, insect repellant
Gather where the Fox Farm access road meets the West River Trail

Some Facts about Oriental Bittersweet, courtesy of Vermont Invasives.

Asiatic bittersweet is a deciduous, woody vine that climbs saplings and trees and can grow over 60 feet in length.

The alternate, elliptical to circular leaves are light green in color and 2-5 inches long.

Small, inconspicuous, axillary, greenish-white flowers bloom from May to early June. Oriental bittersweet closely resembles American bittersweet (Celastrus scandens). The main difference: Celastrus scandens has flowers and fruits at the terminal ends of branches; Celastrus orbiculatus has flowers scattered along the entire stem.

The small globose fruits are green when young; ripen to yellow; then split to reveal showy, scarlet berries that persist into winter.

Image courtesy of Vermont Invasives.

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Trail Work Day: Saturday May 28

Image courtesy of Missouri Department of Conservation

We will be removing invasive species from The Riverstone Preserve on the last Saturday morning of every month throughout the summer and fall. Please join us to learn about invasive species and help preserve a shared natural resource. All volunteers are welcome! We’ll announce upcoming trail work days here. Stay tuned!

This coming Saturday May 28, we are seeking volunteers for a special work day.

Dan Healey, a forester from Long View Forest, Inc. will be with us, to help us identify the seedlings of Oriental Bittersweet and some of the other invasive species that grow on the Riverstone Preserve (21 acres of land adjacent to the West River Trail).

You can walk or bike in from the Marina Trailhead to the northern boundary of the Riverstone Preserve (about 1 3/4-2 miles from the trailhead) or park at the Fox Farm Rd trailhead and walk or bike in from there (shorter walk). We’ll gather where the Fox Farm access road meets the West River Trail at 10 am, to start working, so give yourself time to get to the meeting place (about 1/2 hour).  

Bring work/gardening gloves, water, a snack, insect repellant. We’ll be mostly pulling seedlings that are easy to remove. It’s satisfying work to learn to identify and keep the invasive species under control on this special piece of property. We’ll be doing this on the last Saturday morning of every month throughout the summer and fall.  

Please email lowersection@westrivertrail.org to let us know you’re coming and/or with any questions. Thank you!

Work Day Details:
West River Trail Work Day, Riverstone Preserve
Saturday May 28 10 am – 12 pm (allow about 1/2 hour walk to get to meeting place)
Bring work/gardening gloves, water, a snack, insect repellant
Gather where the Fox Farm access road meets the West River Trail

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Trail News: Trail Reroute opens!

Huge thanks to the bridge prep crew – Elia Hamilton, Jesse Wagner, Malcolm Moore, Steve Shriner and Alex Wilson – for their contribution to trail improvements! All of this work takes financial and volunteer support. To help with these ongoing efforts to improve the trail, please consider a donation to the West River Trail. We welcome your support in any way you would like to give. Sign up on the website to receive email alerts about Volunteer Work Days and other events, and/or go to our Donate page to make a donation! Thank you!

The letter below is posted on behalf of Steve Shriner, West River Trail Steering Committee. Thanks to Alex Wilson for the photos of the bridge building workshop.

The WRT trail took a new turn recently with the opening of a rerouted portion of the trail in the Riverstone Preserve. This area, known locally as the “sandy area”, suffered from erosion and silt buildup from flooding. The flow of water across the trail from an upstream ravine had become more or less permanent.

The new trail parallels the old and includes a bridge over the stream made from locally sourced locust. In addition to the efforts of our volunteer steering committee, a volunteer group of employees from Nasdaq OneReport completed the final bridge assembly and helped finish the trail. Thanks to all who supported this project!

Projects like this enhance the Trail and make it more accessible and safe for all to use. To help with these ongoing efforts, please consider a donation to the West River Trail. Donate information can be found on our Donate Tab from the home page of the West River Trail website, and by clicking here. Thanks!

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West River Trail Workday a Success

Many thanks to our dedicated trail workday volunteers!

Eight volunteers had a beautiful morning on the Riverstone Preserve on Sunday, September 26. The air was cool and fresh, the West River sparkling in the sunshine, and leaves were floating down. Starting at the north end, we walked the loop trail and pulled mostly Oriental Bittersweet seedlings growing along the trail edge. As we pulled, we also identified interesting plants, with the help of local botanist Mike Duffy. Having completed the interior of the loop on our work day a month ago, we worked our way beyond the south leg of the trail, finding copious amounts of bittersweet seedlings to pull. Very gratifying.

Many thanks to our volunteers: Diana Clark, Mike Duffy, Hank Lange, Eric Pofcher, Jesse Wagner, Kathleen White , and Jerelyn and Alex Wilson! Look for the announcement about our next invasives work day. All are welcome to join.

Thanks to Diana Clark for the photos.

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Trail Work Day August 1st

Come learn to identify plants (especially invasive plants) and help remove them from the Riverstone Preserve at the same time! 

The Friends of the West River Trail are hosting a volunteer work day on Sunday, August 1 from 9:30 am to 1 pm.  

Dan Healey of LongView Forest (whose crew has been working on invasive mitigation on the RP for the last 3 summers) will be there to help us with identification and pulling methods. Mike Duffy, who is a botanist and has been creating an inventory of all the plants on the WRT will also be there.

Bring work gloves, water to drink, a snack, and a plastic trash bag. We will meet where the Fox Farm Rd access road meets the West River Trail, near the northern border of the Riverstone Preserve. For questions and to let us know you are coming, email lowersection@westrivertrail.org. 

Thanks and we hope to see you there!