More than 100 volunteers from Eastern Mountain Sports, Briggs & Riley Travelware, EarthTec, NEMO Equipment, Jetboil, and Polartec came out to support the East Coast Backyard Collective. This great group of volunteers partnered with several local environmental organizations and spread out through the Monadnock region of New Hampshire to work on a variety of conservation and restoration projects.
The Society for Protection of New Hampshire Forests, a recent grantee of the Conservation Alliance, organized a large scale trail maintenance project. Volunteers spent the morning clearing trails and building 4 bridges at the 189-acre McCabe Forest Reservation. The property will soon have a new parking lot, property sign and kiosk for the new trail to access existing paths along the scenic Contoocook River.
"The thing that was amazing about the Conservation Alliance Backyard Collective event was the instant camaraderie that developed. Our crew of 18 was comprised of 4 EMS employees, 6 folks from NEMO Tents in Nashua (even in the midst of moving their HQ to Dover) and four Forest Society land steward volunteers and four Forest Society staff," said David Anderson, The Director of Education and Volunteer Services for The Society for Protection of New Hampshire Forests. "We busted-out a lot of work. We carried in the lumber and decking for 3 foot bridges and one bog bridge, placed the stringers and decked the bridges, cleared the treadway and cleared the fallen trees and painted blazes and cleaned up and finished all before noon. Essentially we accomplished a full day of heavy trail work in a half day due to the enthusiasm and strength of the individuals working together. The Society for Protection of New Hampshire Forests is extremely pleased to have had an opportunity to host a volunteer service project as part of the Backyard Collective!"
All volunteers ended their day celebrating their efforts and hard work over a pizza lunch at Eastern Mountain Sports base camp. During lunch, local non-profits including The Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests, New Hampshire Audubon, Harris Center for Conservation Education, New Hampshire State Parks, and the Alaska Wilderness League were able to share additional ways volunteers could support their environmental efforts.
A huge thank you to all our participating volunteers and special thanks to Eastern Mountain Sports, The Timberland Company, Briggs and Riley, and EarthTec for their sponsorship of the New Hampshire BYC.
Stay tuned for the next BYC in Bend Oregon on September 29th.