The trails we ride are built and maintained by real people, not trail fairies. When we join trail work parties, such as the Oregon Timber Trails Stewardship events, we build sweat equity and deepen our connection to the place and to the community who use the trails. As the child of parents who run a mountain bike tour and shuttle company, my daughter has been on trail work parties since she was little. Sometimes she enjoys the work more than other times, but over the years we’ve learned what works and what doesn’t.
What follows are suggestions on how to include elementary and middle school children in trail work. Younger kids can be involved as their physical skills and interest dictate and teenagers are increasingly more capable, strong, and can accomplish significant tasks. These suggestions aren’t official best practices, just what I've come to after 20 years as an educator who regularly set up outdoor learning and stewardship activities for middle school students and through my own experiences incorporating my daughter and her friends into formal and informal trail work.
1. Be on time:
In general, trail work parties begin with a welcome circle at which the organizers share the what, why and how of the project. Show up on time so that you are present for the welcome meeting. This allows the children to meet the group, get the big picture of the work to be accomplished and be part of the safety talk. Being on time also allows you to borrow the necessary personal protective equipment and tools from the trail work organizer. Organizers typically have hard hats to loan out to volunteers; wear one and help fit one to your child.
2. Safety first.
Considering safety, set your child up for success before you leave home. Wear long pants, long sleeve shirts and closed toe shoes. Kid sized bike gloves do double duty as trail work gloves. At the trail work event, model proper use of tools, how to safely carry tools (business end down) and how and why to stay away from power tools. Safety glasses are also recommended, though kids may balk at adding them to the already heavy hard hat.
The author, Kirin Stryker hard at work on the Watson Fire rehab
3. Bring a friend
My daughter is an only child who by default spends considerable time with adults. She’s way more willing to participate in trail work if she can bring a friend. She has the most fun when her bike team, Cascadia Junior Cycling, collectively works on their home trails, such as raking and sweeping jumps on Whoops or cutting out Flagline for opening day. Plus, this allows you to expose additional children to the benefits of participating in the stewardship.
Bring a friend. Photo by Kirin Stryker
4. Real tasks
Children are far more capable than perhaps we give them credit for, don’t patronize them with busy work unrelated to the objectives of the stewardship event. Bring a few tools and trade off with loppers, rakes, hand saws or swamping for sawyers, etc. Demonstrate proper use of each tool and let them have a chance with each task or tool. At her first trail work event when she was around 6 years old, my daughter helped rake needles off the trail and used loppers. Resist the urge to redo the work after them, it's good enough, walk away.
5. Keep it fun
This past summer we participated in the Oregon Timber Trail’s Fugrass Stewardship event, which involved cutting the initial corridor on a brand new trail. The vast majority of the work was done with chainsaws. Swamping can be hard, but we kept it fun by getting the girls involved with the satisfying work of moving the big cut logs by laying on the ground and pushing with our legs. We made contests of how far we could throw cut out saplings.
Trail work can be fun! Photo: Kirin Stryker
6. Lower your expectations
The manual labor involved with trail work is hard by anyone’s standards. Depending on the age and experience of the child they may get tired or put off by the hard work. Participate as your child is able, take breaks and leave before they are totally done so that they recall the work fondly and have some interest in joining future work events. Last summer’s Fugrass stewardship project took place during the notorious heat dome and in prime mosquito season. We started work early, then at lunch time the girls and I hiked back to camp so they could spend the afternoon swimming in the lake. They were more agreeable the next day, knowing that I would keep my promise to cut out early again.
7. Snacks
Carry ample food and water, eat early and often. Although my family usually eats healthy, junk food helps. Bring snacks you might not usually keep on hand, such as M & M’s or Cheetos.
8. Make space for play and wonder
Being in the woods is cool and inevitably they will put down their tools and want to be kids. Let them stop to check out the newts or mushrooms or even build fairy houses when they have worked enough. Catch them standing quietly on a big stump to take in the grandeur of the place. Even if they aren’t getting much done by our adult standards, simply being there is enough. If they enjoy trail work they are more likely to continue to join and eventually will be productive.
9. Ride the trails you’ve worked on
Recently, while shuttling Dead Mountain Trail in Oakridge, we rode past a big stump where my daughter and friends took a break during a trail work party and played make believe when they were about nine years old. While barreling full speed down the narrow side hill trail, the now thirteen year olds hollered to themselves about the memory of being there. Someday we’ll ride the Fugrass connector and the kids will recall the mosquitos, heat, bushwacking while following ribbons of a potential trail and their time working there last summer. I’m so grateful that they’ll have a connection to a place that is special to me because of their experiences there.
Ride testing a new section of trail in the Fremont National Forest. Photo: Gabe Tiller