Hello everyone,
It’s that time of year again. The warming of the weather after winter rains is getting everything growing again. Growing right over our trails, that is. The rain storms have caused a lot of dirt to slip down onto the trails as well. We’re coming up to the busiest time of the year for Big Creek, when scientists and classes come to study the Reserve. We also have our Open House on May 9th and we need to have our trails open. It’s a lot of work and we would really appreciate your help clearing and prepping the trails. Volunteering is also a great way for the public to see Big Creek, to contribute and appreciate the role the Reserve plays on our coast.
You should bring gloves, sturdy shoes and pants. No flip flops or shorts. Please also bring a lunch, sunscreen and a container able to carry plenty of water. We have tasty spring water here available for you to fill up with. Don’t worry! Thanks to a generous donation, we have Tecnu available for volunteers to wash off any poison oak oils you may have received from those hugging vines.
If you are willing to help out, you can take advantage of the hiking privileges afforded to volunteers. We offer a day of hiking for a day of work, which might make a nice weekend for you. We have campgrounds available for volunteers to stay overnight.
Please reply to bigcreek@ucsc.edu with dates you are interested in working. We can be pretty flexible and will try our best to accommodate you and work around when you are available. It would be great if groups who know each other would be able to carpool, although will leave that coordination up to you.
Thank you for your interest in Big Creek. We look forward to some great trail work this Spring!
Take care,
Mark, Feynner and Sean