Friends of the Mountains - to - Sea Trail

Come volunteer on the Falls Lake section of the MST on Saturday, September 26, 2020 for the 27th annual NATIONAL PUBLIC LANDS DAY! Help celebrate, support and honor our public lands by volunteering to help maintain the Falls Lake Trail, a 60+ mile section of the MST. Please RSVP to [masked] or[masked] by Sept. 23th, 2020 for this workday. MEETING SITE: Meet at the Food Lion parking lot at the intersection of Patterson/Sherron Road and Highway 98 at 9:00 am on the workday for BREAKFAST AND COFFEE followed by a short organizational and safety briefing. After the briefing we will split up into project groups and disperse to do our trail work. BAD WEATHER POLICY: If the workday is canceled due to bad weather a mass email will be sent by 10:00 PM the evening before the event. So please check your email first thing the morning of the event before departing for the meetup site. If you are new to trail work please let us know and we will pair you up with an experienced person. What you will need to provide: Work clothes and solid shoes or hiking boots. Proper Clothing for the Weather! Plenty of water Bag Lunch Work gloves, if you have them (If not, we have some) We have the tools that will be needed. WORK SAFELY. This is the most important thing, and our main goal. Have a good time. This is a scenic area. There are box turtles, heron, woodpeckers, deer, beaver, and other wildlife in this area as well as scenic views of the lake. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- National Public Lands Day is celebrated annually at public lands in the United States on the 4th Saturday of September. A signature event of the National Environmental Education Foundation, it promotes both popular enjoyment and volunteer conservation of public lands. Three federal agencies and 700 volunteers launched the first National Public Lands Day in 1994. From the National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF): Mark September 26 on your calendar and make plans to head to your favorite outdoor spot as NEEF gets set to celebrate the 27th annual National Public Lands Day, nationally sponsored by Toyota Motor North America. No matter what is happening in the world, on National Public Lands Day, outdoor enthusiasts turn out in droves to give back to and enjoy their favorite outdoor places. Every day, natural disasters and extreme weather, human activities, and a host of other factors take their toll on our public lands, threatening the health and well-being of the people and wildlife who depend on them. Public land managers, volunteers, and others who steward these special places work tirelessly to restore these areas, make them more resilient to future threats, and ensure that people and wildlife continue to enjoy them for years to come. Our natural resources are resilient, but only if we treat them right and give them the care they need. Through volunteer service on National Public Lands Day as well as grant support to local organizations, NEEF helps ensure people of all ages and abilities connect with public lands for recreation, hands-on learning, and community-building—now and in the future. For more information about National Public Lands Day check out the NEEF FAQ site: https://www.neefusa.org/npld/faq ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks to: > Great Outdoor Provision Company for sponsoring our breakfast from Chick-Fli-A for our workdays. > Starbucks off Falls of Neuse Road and Durant Road for the coffee. > REI Co-op, whose 2019 local stewardship grant of $40,050 supports our volunteer trail crews, adds new miles of footpath, and improves signage helping more people find and follow the MST. If you want to be added to the official MST email notification list to receive Falls Lake Trails workday announcements and details, email: [masked].

NOTE: This workday is on SUNDAY due to deer hunting season. Falls Lake Workday - SUNDAY – November 15th, 2020 begins at 9 a.m. BAD WEATHER POLICY: If the workday is cancelled due to bad weather a mass email will be sent by 10:00 PM on SATURDAY. So please check your email first thing SUNDAY morning before leaving. MEETING SITE: We begin the workday at 9 a.m. with BREAKFAST BISCUITS AND COFFEE, a safety briefing and any pertinent announcements at the Food Lion parking lot located at the intersection of Patterson/Sherron Road and Highway 98. Shortly after 9 we organize into project groups and disperse to various locations to do trail work. Please RSVP to [masked] or[masked] by Wednesday, November 10th for this work day. If you are new at trail work please let us know and we will pair you up with an experienced person. What you will need to provide: Work clothes and solid shoes or hiking boots. Proper Clothing for the Weather! Plenty of water Bag Lunch Work gloves, if you have them (If not, we have some) We have the tools that will be needed. WORK SAFELY. This is the most important thing, and our main goal. In particular:Use tools carefully. If you do not know how to use a particular tool, or what to do in a particular circumstance please ask. Do not work too close together and be careful with rakes, shovels, and mattocks to avoid hitting the person next to you. When walking past another volunteer, please say something so they know you are there. Do not lift anything heavier than you can comfortably lift and lift with your legs not with your back. Know you own limits. This is not a race. We will be working on and maintaining this trail for years to come. Take plenty of breaks. Make sure to drink plenty of water, even when it's cold outside. There are holes in the ground to step in, branches to trip over, thorns, wasps, poison ivy (fortunately not too much of that on this segment of trail), ticks, chiggers, and other hazards. Please be cautious. Have a good time. This is a scenic area. There are box turtles, heron, woodpeckers, deer, beaver, and other wildlife in this area as well as scenic views of the lake. TASKS for this workday: Specific projects will be added as the workday approaches. TYPICAL WORKDAY TASKS: TRIMMING: Cutting branches and logs across the trail. TRASH: We have trash bags to pick up trash along the way. We will carry the trash out to one of the ends of the trail section. RAKING THE TRAIL: It is necessary to rake the trail tread clear of leaves, branches, other debris so that we know where we need to level the trail, fill holes, etc. Please use caution while raking to avoid poking others with the rake handle. PULLING OUT SMALL SAPLINGS FROM TRAIL TREAD: There will be some small saplings in the trail tread. If these are cut off they tend to grow back from the roots, so we need to either pull them by hand (if they are very small), dig them out with a mattocks, or if they are up to an inch in diameter, pull them out with the weed wrench. FILLING HOLES: These need to be filled if they are within the 2' wide trail tread, or if they are within several feet of the trail on either side. We have shovels and buckets for this purpose. LEVELING TRAIL TREAD: Walking across the side of a hill is tiring and increases the likelihood of injury. The finished trail tread should be, in cross section, close to level. Thanks to: > Great Outdoor Provision Company for sponsoring our breakfast biscuits for our workdays. > Starbucks off Falls of Neuse Road and Durant Road for providing the coffee. > REI Co-op, whose 2019 local stewardship grant of $40,050 supports our volunteer trail crews, adds new miles of footpath, and improves signage helping more people find and follow the MST. To be added to the official MST email notification list to receive Falls Lake Trails workday announcements and details, email: [masked].