An opportunity to work on a Global Information System (GIS) mapping project at Wolfe's Neck Farm in Freeport came about through a grant from the Pine Tree 4-H Foundation that was sponsored by the Cumberland County Extension Office. The Trail Blazers project was to be a 3-day camp for 4-H youth to put GIS/GPS technology into practical application by making a new trail map for visitors and educators at the farm. My kids signed up and my husband and I volunteered to help.
But a few days before the Trail Blazers project was to begin, the Nor'Easter descended. The night before our first meeting, I received a call that there was extensive storm damage around the trails and that the farm was not allowing visitors the next day because they were without power and running water. But the project organizers believed all was not lost. The Trail Blazers simply had a new focus for their work at the farm the remaining two days - identify fallen trees and other hazards on the trail with their GPS units. With those waypoints plotted on a map, a clean-up crew would be able to prioritize and clear the trail more quickly.
ASSIGNING TASKS
Garbed in snow boots and snow pants to minimize the mess factor with the mud (shin deep in some places), the thirteen young Trail Blazers (with an average age of 11) were given a short walking tour of the trails by M.D. "Mitch" Mitchell, the Education Coordinator at the farm. Then Lisa Phelps, the Extension Educator for UMaine's Cooperative Extension in Cumberland County and organizer of the project, introduced the GPS (global positioning system) units to the group and reviewed how the group was to use them for the project. It took the kids about 10 minutes to learn to mark a waypoint and navigate through the screens on the unit to confirm their coordinates.
The Trail Blazers were assigned partners, one to manage a GPS unit and the other to record waypoint coordinates and the type of storm damage (mostly fallen trees) or trail feature (like bridges and outdoor classrooms). A few of the kids opted to clear the lighter brush and logs from the trails before two smaller work groups were formed and set out on the trail with adult volunteers assigned to help and keep them focused on their task.
FUN ALONG THE WAY
My 9-year-old was her typical spunky self while clearing brush and moving small logs with her dad while the older kids marked the waypoints. She spotted some lichen-covered branches and decided "lichen Lincoln" was the phrase of the day - and I mean the whole day.
Being in charge of clearing brush and moving small logs off the trail to make curbing, was not an unpleasant task for my 9-year-old. She decided it was the best way to scope out good branches to build a fairy house.
That kid is always thinking.
Our group of six girls opted to take a break on the trail so their youngest member could make her fairy house while the rest of them found their own fun balancing logs and playing with a small rotted log that moved "like Jell-O."
By the end of the first day the Trailblazers had marked waypoints of both storm damage and features for more than half the trail system at the farm. Anyone who saw the Trailblazers that day knew they had been busy; there was not one person - including adults - that was not covered in mud at least to their knees.
And although the trails at Wolfe's Neck Farm are only a couple of miles total, after the first day the kids were convinced they had "walked a million miles!" And in reality, walking the trails and backtracking several times throughout the day, they did walk more than a few miles.
DAY TWO
The tricky part of our second day at the farm was finding a section of the trail that we could not locate the previous day. There were several large trees fallen in the area that had the trail's blue blazes. Since there was not an accurate trail map - which was the reason for the project in the first place - we had to rely on general directions and some surveyors tape to find our way.
In the end it was a couple of younger kids who spotted the blue blazes in the distance that confirmed the actual trail through the fallen trees. There were a lot of proud young faces returning to the trail head for lunch after completing that task. But it was a fallen tree on the Long Trail that would prove the most exciting of the day.
AN EXCITING DISCOVERY
Because there was still a lot of work to do on the second (and final) day, my husband and I tried to keep our group focused on their task with only the necessary water breaks. But then one of the girls made a discovery that required our full attention; she found a round lead ball hidden in the rings of a fallen tree. My husband believed it to be an old musket bullet and found three more inside the tree. A 12-year-old in our group tried to count the rings on the splintered tree to estimate the age of the ball but without a saw to smooth out the cut, it seemed an impossible task. The kids excitedly shared their find with the other Trail Blazers at the end of the day and turned over their treasure to the farm.
SATISFYING WORK
By the end of the second day the kids had managed to collect the data needed to plot the trail on a map (which was done by simply walking the trails and saving the track on the GPS unit) and had marked all the serious storm damage. All the data for the second map that identified bridges, outdoor classrooms and other features was collected as well. Two of the older teens assisted the project's coordinator, Lisa Phelps, with entering the waypoints on the map. After many long hours, the comprehensive storm damage map was printed later that night.
The next day the Maine Outdoor Adventure Club volunteers were given the Trail Blazers' storm damage map and started their work.
My family went back to the farm a few days later to hide the Trail Blazer's geocache and my kids were both surprised and thrilled that so many of the trees that they had crawled under or climbed over for two days were gone. That's when the reality of the work that they had done had really hit home.
So when your child picks up an electronic device and asks to use it, you might want to let them. You never know when a 21st century kid's general knowledge of gadgets will make a real difference in their community.
GET INVOLVED
National Trails Day is June 2 and volunteers are needed for trail work projects around the state. For information about National Trails Day, and to find a project near you, go to: tinyurl.com/ypxde7.MAINE 4-H
To learn more about 4-H in Maine go to: www.maine4h.umaine.edu
WOLFE'S NECK FARM
More about wolfesneckfarm.org
TRAIL BLAZER'S GEOCACHE
Check out the Trail Blazers geocache at Wolfe's Neck Farm. Get coordinates to the box
Originally published in the Maine Sunday Telegram, May 2007
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