REGISTER TO VOLUNTEER HERE -> https://www.volunteervoc.org/need/detail/?need_id=905828

VOC’s women’s project provides a unique opportunity for women, girls, and female-identifying volunteers to build community throughout the project while contributing to the shared goal of improving the Outdoor Lab's trail system. The goal of creating this space is to provide the opportunity for women to work together at a more inclusive pace, and to gather people who are all passionate about outdoor stewardship work.

Women are underrepresented in the field of trail maintenance across Colorado, which makes this type of intentional community building particularly impactful.

Where you’ll be:

Join us for VOC’s seventh annual Women’s project at Mt. Blue Sky Outdoor Lab (previously known as Mt. Evans Outdoor Lab).

Mt. Blue Sky Outdoor Lab is a non-profit dedicated to immersive environmental education for Jefferson County sixth-grade students, and the trail improvements for this project will work towards improving the hiking experience of 2,500 students that visit annually.

What you’ll do:

You will be working to help repair the center's Leave No Trace Trail by installing timber steps and building new sections of trail.

On this project, you will get to learn from one of Colorado's leading trail designers and experienced VOC volunteer Technical Advisor, Terry Gimbel. It is a great opportunity to learn and implement new skills while getting to do the work, too. Volunteers will help build new trail and build timber steps to stabilize the trail. While this project is technical, no experience is required!

Why it’s important:

Founded in 1957, the Mt. Evans Outdoor Lab exposes youth to the outdoors and develops passion and competencies in environmental awareness and conservation. However, the Leave No Trace Trail has experienced heavy wear and tear, making it unstable, slippery, and overdue for much-needed restoration work. Project tasks will include some new trail construction and timber step construction. Your efforts will make this trail safer for the 2,500 sixth-grade students who use the trail every year - many of whom are hiking for the very first time!