Are you looking to get outside?
On the fence about volunteering on a trail crew because you feel you don’t have the skills?
Unsure you have the time to spare?
Come out and work with the Natural Design Trail Crew!
We do all types of trail work, from the design and layout of new trails, to advanced structures such as stone steps, bridges and walkways, and every type of trail maintenance and construction in between, all using the concept of Natural Design. Regardless of your skill set, we have advanced crew chiefs and leaders who are there to help you learn the skills necessary while volunteering out on the trail. We also periodically offer training classes to teach the fundamentals of trail building, tool use and safety.
The Natural Design Trail Crew is responsible for supporting trails in Northern and Central NJ. If you are interested, please email [email protected] to be added to our email list, which is how we distribute our Trail Crew Work Trip details like location, type of work, time to meet, and any other specifics regarding the trip. We have three types of work trips:
Trail Design - These outings focus on design, whether it be a new trail layout, a re-route, or overcoming issues on sections of trail. There will be discussion, scouting, and planning of what needs to be accomplished to create or improve the trail.
Work Trip - A pre-scheduled work trip of a duration of 5 to 8 hours to address a specific trail project. The work trip builds what was planned in the trail design trip. Work trips consist of various types of manual labor using trail tools supplied by the crew (personal tools are welcome also). Would you like to learn how to and help build a bridge? Clear a trail? Build a drainage dip? Construct a new or relocated trail? Fix wash-outs, water problems, or rutted trails? Lots of good stuff!
Ad-Hoc - For these last-minute outings, an email will be sent out hopefully 24 hours in advance, or the night before, when a crew leader realizes, “Yeah, I have tomorrow off and I might as well go play in the woods.” These happen whenever and their duration could be any period of time, like three hours on a Saturday morning or afternoon, and the work can be anything.
Because we appreciate your help, in order to ensure that we have the right amount of tools and work planned, we ask that you respond to our trip email at [email protected] if you will be attending a particular trip. Please wear appropriate clothing, and bring food and water for yourself and anything else you may need (i.e. bug juice, snacks). We suggest bringing a backpack, as we hike in to where we work and carry the tools required for the trip.
To meeting new people, having a good time, learning something new,
and accomplishing some great things out on the trail!