Trail Crew
Trail Crew meets every Wednesday from 9 am to 11 am, except during bad weather and around holidays. Details on upcoming Trail Crew sessions will be posted here. Our work focuses on RRCT’s many public access properties, sometimes spending several weeks in a row at the same site. RRCT is also happy to help out at partner properties when Trail Crew is available.
There is a job for everyone, no matter your shape, skills, or strength. Join us the one week you have time or interest, or put Trail Crew on your calendar as your regular Wednesday morning ritual. It's a great way to experience a new preserve, get to know someone new, and learn new trail work techniques. Trail Crew tackles a variety of trail projects including clearing trail corridors, invasive plant removal, route finding and trail alignment, trail marking, constructing bog bridging and bridges, and improving signage. RRCT brings specific tools that will be helpful. We encourage volunteers to bring personal tools as well. Hand saws, pole saws, and loppers are favorites. Crew members should bring a water bottle, and wear sturdy shoes, work gloves, and the right clothes for the day.
Trail Crew is led by RRCT's Stewardship Director Hanae Garrison. If you have any questions or concerns, you can reach me at (973) 255-7513 or Hanae@RRCT.org
There is a job for everyone, no matter your shape, skills, or strength. Join us the one week you have time or interest, or put Trail Crew on your calendar as your regular Wednesday morning ritual. It's a great way to experience a new preserve, get to know someone new, and learn new trail work techniques. Trail Crew tackles a variety of trail projects including clearing trail corridors, invasive plant removal, route finding and trail alignment, trail marking, constructing bog bridging and bridges, and improving signage. RRCT brings specific tools that will be helpful. We encourage volunteers to bring personal tools as well. Hand saws, pole saws, and loppers are favorites. Crew members should bring a water bottle, and wear sturdy shoes, work gloves, and the right clothes for the day.
Trail Crew is led by RRCT's Stewardship Director Hanae Garrison. If you have any questions or concerns, you can reach me at (973) 255-7513 or Hanae@RRCT.org
Upcoming Trail Crew Sessions:
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Wednesday, August 26th, 9:00 am to 11:00 am - Join us at Old Harris Road Preserve in Pownal! It's been a while since Trail Crew has worked on this 0.6-mile out-and-back trail, so today we will freshen it up with new signage, trim back the trail, and remove invasive plants around the trailhead on Elmwood Road.
There is an existing medium-sized kiosk at the trailhead, just west of the Elmwood Cemetery. We'll replace the existing signage with new, rebranded materials. On either side of the trailhead, there are invasive Asiatic bittersweet vines and shrubby honeysuckle that we can hand-pull by their roots and cut with hand saws and loppers. We'll then walk along the wide trail, cutting back overhanging hemlock branches and encroaching vegetation. Near the end of the trail, there is a muddy area with poor drainage. Using trail grubbing tools, we will dig a "U" shaped drainage channel to allow the water to drain into the adjacent woods.
RRCT will bring signage, loppers, hand saws, a pole saw, rogue hoe, pick mattock, shovels, and safety glasses. Feel free to bring personal tools that may be helpful. Bring plenty of water, sunscreen, and work gloves.
We'll meet at the trailhead at 604 Elmwood Road in Pownal, by the Elmwood Cemetery across from Pownal Elementary School. Park along the wide road shoulder, on the same side as the cemetery.
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Wednesday, September 2nd, 9:00 am to 11:00 am - TBD
Wednesday, September 9th, 9:00 am to 11:00 am - TBD
Wednesday, September 16th, 9:00 am to 11:00 am - TBD
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*Photography and Filming Note: Your attendance at Trail Crew may be photographed or filmed and your attendance indicates consent to have any images or footage featuring you at the event to be used for RRCT-related materials and outreach. Should images or footage appear in marketing materials that you don’t wish to be featured in, email Hanae@RRCT.org, and RRCT will cease to further use your image or footage for any new materials going forward.
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Wednesday, August 26th, 9:00 am to 11:00 am - Join us at Old Harris Road Preserve in Pownal! It's been a while since Trail Crew has worked on this 0.6-mile out-and-back trail, so today we will freshen it up with new signage, trim back the trail, and remove invasive plants around the trailhead on Elmwood Road.
There is an existing medium-sized kiosk at the trailhead, just west of the Elmwood Cemetery. We'll replace the existing signage with new, rebranded materials. On either side of the trailhead, there are invasive Asiatic bittersweet vines and shrubby honeysuckle that we can hand-pull by their roots and cut with hand saws and loppers. We'll then walk along the wide trail, cutting back overhanging hemlock branches and encroaching vegetation. Near the end of the trail, there is a muddy area with poor drainage. Using trail grubbing tools, we will dig a "U" shaped drainage channel to allow the water to drain into the adjacent woods.
RRCT will bring signage, loppers, hand saws, a pole saw, rogue hoe, pick mattock, shovels, and safety glasses. Feel free to bring personal tools that may be helpful. Bring plenty of water, sunscreen, and work gloves.
We'll meet at the trailhead at 604 Elmwood Road in Pownal, by the Elmwood Cemetery across from Pownal Elementary School. Park along the wide road shoulder, on the same side as the cemetery.
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Wednesday, September 2nd, 9:00 am to 11:00 am - TBD
Wednesday, September 9th, 9:00 am to 11:00 am - TBD
Wednesday, September 16th, 9:00 am to 11:00 am - TBD
**********************************
*Photography and Filming Note: Your attendance at Trail Crew may be photographed or filmed and your attendance indicates consent to have any images or footage featuring you at the event to be used for RRCT-related materials and outreach. Should images or footage appear in marketing materials that you don’t wish to be featured in, email Hanae@RRCT.org, and RRCT will cease to further use your image or footage for any new materials going forward.
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Trail Crew at Mèmak Preserve, April 2026