volunteer workday

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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!

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West River Trail Work Day May 15th

West River Trail, Trillium

Volunteers needed for West River Trail work day! 
Wednesday May 15
4 PM to 6:30 PM

We will meet at 3:45 PM on Wednesday, May 15 at the Marina Trailhead and plan to head out on the trail at 4 PM. We will mostly be doing drainage clearing, though a few people will be chainsawing downed logs. All in all the trail is in great shape, but we need to clear the leaves and debris out of the drainage ditches along the wetter areas of the trail. Bring mud boots, gloves, bug dope, water and an iron rake or hoe if you have one. We have extra tools, if needed. Optional gathering at the Marina Restaurant afterwards! For more information, contact lowersection@westrivertrail.org. We look forward to working out on the trail with you!

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WRT Volunteer Trail Work Day

cropped-milton-avery-in-vermontWe are having a Trail Work Day on Saturday, October 20 from 10 AM to 2 PM. We will meet at the Rice Farm Road Trail head. We’ll be doing some trimming along the trail, weed whacking under the power lines, clearing drainage ditches of leaves and debris, planting a post, putting up some new signs, etc. Wear boots, bring water, snack, work gloves. We will have tools, but you are welcome to bring your own, such as a shovel, clippers, pruner, rake. Lunch will be provided. It will be fun! We look forward to seeing you and are so grateful for your help. For more information or to let us know you’re coming, contact us at: lowersection@westrivertrail.org. Thank you!

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Productive Trail Work Day November 18!

Pat LaBelle, a happy brush trimmer, photo by Kathleen White
A post was set at the Rice Farm Rd Trailhead, photo by Kathleen White

Thank you to our work day volunteers! We so appreciate the work of Pat LaBelle, Risha Gordon, Bill Dixon and Orlando who joined members of the lower section steering committee–Jason Cooper, Malcolm Moore, Matt Mann, Wendy Harrison and Kathleen White. Thank you all!

Tasks accomplished: A post was set at the Rice Farm Rd trail head, grass and brush was trimmed along the overgrown section of trail under the power lines, drainage ditches were cleared of leaves and debris, a few fallen trees were sawed and removed from trail, and caution signs were placed at washout areas on the Fox Farm Road access trail.

After all the tasks were completed, our work day organizer, Jason Cooper found time for some fun and created this stump jump!

Photo by Kathleen White
Photo by Kathleen White

Jason Cooper also discovered evidence of beavers hard at work and Wendy Harrison found an “ice leaf” while working on the trail.

Ice leaf found by Wendy Harrison.
Now that the I-91 heavy equipment is all gone, the next phase of construction work moves in along the West River Trail. Photo by Jason Cooper

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Boulder Work

Three intrepid West River Trail volunteers successfully moved a huge boulder about 2 feet to get it out of the trail, using only pry bars, brute strength and ingenuity! Hurray!

Our next workday is Saturday, November 18, 10 AM-2 PM, weather permitting. Click link for more details – West River Trail Workday.

Hope to see you on the trail!

Thanks to Malcolm Moore for the photos.

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West River Trail Work Day Saturday, November 18, 10 AM-2 PM (weather permitting)

West River Trail, VermontWe will meet at the Marina trail head on Saturday Nov 18 at 9:45 and begin our walk in at 10 AM.  We will be working on clearing leaves from drainage ditches and culverts, clearing a few trees off the trail, putting up caution signs on the Fox Farm Road trail access road and whatever else we see that needs doing.

Wear your boots, work gloves and warm clothes; bring water and a snack, rakes and shovels.  We will have tools as well.  Stay for as long as you can.  Contact lowersection@gmail.com with questions or to RSVP.  We look forward to working with you on this beautiful trail!  Thank you in advance!  (Our sincere apologies to anyone who showed up on October 29.  We forgot to announce that we needed to cancel.  We’ll not let that happen again!)