There is no better feeling than positively impacting local communities and the natural environment. While working as a Trail Steward with the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference Conservation Corps this summer, I am proud to have helped personally make those positive impacts. Stationed at parks in the Lower Hudson Valley region of New York State, I’ve been working with ten other Trail Stewards to protect the land we love and assist trail users in outdoor recreation spaces.
Much of our work this summer has involved assisting trail users through meaningful interactions regarding directions, sustainability, and Trail Conference information. Many trail users have questions about who we are, why we are stationed on the trails, and where they should hike. In answering their questions, Trail Stewards explain the importance of Leave No Trace Principles and safe recreation practices, helping prevent injury to trail users and damage to the park’s ecosystems.
Trail users frequently thank us for helping them and the natural environment – something we’re always thrilled to hear – reaffirming that our work is making a difference.
Alongside our public-facing responsibilities, Trail Stewards are responsible for helping maintain safe, sustainable trails. By seeing the landscape change with our work and receiving recognition and gratitude from trail users who notice our efforts to keep trails accessible, this work is exceptionally rewarding. One of my favorite projects as a Trail Steward has been the trail maintenance we’ve accomplished on the Wilkinson-Memorial Trail in Hudson Highlands State Park. We built turnpikes to prevent flooding and erosion on the trail, an issue of increasing relevance and importance in our region. By keeping trails accessible, trail user safety has increased while the need or desire to go off-trail has decreased, which protects the park’s sensitive ecosystems.
Being a Trail Steward has allowed me to work as part of a dedicated and driven team to help protect the land we love and positively impact the communities around us.
By engaging with trail users and performing trail maintenance jobs, I’ve earned hands-on experience in the environmental field, formed new friendships, and learned so much along the way.