Bay State Trail Riders Association (BSTRA) partnered up with the Department of Conservation & Recreation (DCR) to improve trails.
On April 25th, which was Park Serve Day we targeted a section of the Southern New England Trunkline Trail (SNETT) from Monroe St. in Douglas to West St. in Uxbridge. This section is 1.44 miles long. Our goal was to trim up this whole section and pick up all the winter debris.
I am happy to report that we did accomplish our goal with the help from the following people. DCR personnel: Paul Gosselin, Steve Lovejoy, Ron Anderson, Dan Davis and Marina Goloborodko.
BSTRA members: Becky Kalagher, Karen Parlin, Bill Knott, Barbara McCumber, Joan Lowbridge-Sisley and Sue Quirk.
Friends of the SNETT: Jean & Chris Keyes.
Douglas High School students: Laim Madden, Sean Brunson and Nicholas Daly.
Surprise Volunteers: Jennifer Carlono and Shane Culliton.
For Park Serve Day we put in a total of 59.41 hours for a value of our service of $1,652.79. Plus BSTRA donated $103.33 for lunch. Park Serve Day is about making a difference and thanks to our volunteers, we did.
What is even more important about both of these work days (18th & 25th), is the fact that all the volunteer labor will go towards a match from a grant the BSTRA received from the Blackstone Heritage Corridor. Part of that grant will get a section of Ridge Trail (1.4 miles) re-graded and drainage swales re-opened and the section of the SNETT we worked on will also be re-graded, drainage swales reopened and stone dust spread over a 1000 foot long section of cinder stones. The stones make for a good base, but are not very fun to walk or ride over. So stay tuned for updates when the grant work is done.
