A crew of AmeriCorps volunteers recently restored several eroded sections of trail on the eastern and southern shores of Farrar Pond that had become difficult to walk on due to erosion.
Fred Winchell and other members of the Farrar Pond Conservation Trust identified 10 spots in three sections of trail that needed the most work. A retaining wall and fill were installed to cover exposed roots and provide a level walking surface in one area. The crew also installed check steps—timbers placed across the trail to act as both low dams to slow water flowing down a trail and as steps for trail users. Some trail parts were also widened or rerouted slightly.
Over a 10-day period in late May and June, the five AmeriCorps crew members refurbished on a total of almost 8,000 feet of trail, including 250 feet of new trail and the 35-foot-long retaining wall.
Based in the Berkshires in northwestern Massachusetts, the Student Conservation Association’s (SCA) Massachusetts AmeriCorps program is a residential community of emerging leaders who devote five or 10 months to full-time educational and conservation service.
“Though our [Farrar Pond] projects were things we had little previous practice in and were hard work, we were motivated by visits from lots of furry and feathered friends. During one lunch break, Ryan played peek-a-boo with a weasel. Two swans made constant rounds with their four new babies in tow. And we were visited many times a day by our site contact, Fred [Winchell], and his friendly dog, Finnick,” AmeriCorps crew leader Caitlin Faulds wrote.
The project was funded by the Farrar Pond Associates via donations from pond abutters and other friends of Farrar Pond as well as a generous gift from Bob Davoli and Eileen McDonagh.
Photos courtesy SCA Massachusetts AmeriCorps and Fred Winchell; click here to see more.
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