Trails help keep us happy and healthy. No one wants to stay inside all the time, so we need places to go outside and explore. On trails you can get all your energy out, see cool plants, trees, and wildlife, and spend time with family and friends. It’s important we keep trails nice so everyone can enjoy them for years to come.

Trails are an important resource, but sadly we are increasingly seeing trails abused by littering and vandalism. American Trails has created a packet to teach kids to be great trail stewards so the next generation of trail lovers can help lead the way towards better care for our trails.

This packet is ideal for elementary age children, and will help teach the importance of trails, different kinds of trail users, and concepts such as trail sharing. There are also pages where kids can put into practice what they learned through worksheets, and a certificate of completion at the end.

If you can’t print this packet at home please contact [email protected] and they can send you a copy.

Cite…

Pima County Natural Resources, Parks and Recreation needs help maintaining hiking trails near Tucson.

Monsoon 2017 has let up for now, but just weeks ago storms dumped lots of rain on southern Arizona. All that rain caused weeds and other plants to grow out of control.

County officials are looking for trail stewards to make sure these trails continue looking good.

Volunteers are needed to keep an eye on their assigned portion of the trail and clean it up when the trails start looking overgrown.

Volunteers will be asked to do minor maintenance by removing any weeds blocking the trail and let the county know if anything more serious is going on.

The trails program coordinator said the trails need to be kept under control. He said if they aren’t, hikers could be forced to make their own trails, which could destroy the wildlife there and put your safety at risk.

“Most of the people who come out here are able to handle the trails. Some of our trails are difficult by design and build but getting lost is a problem,” he said. “Especially in the Tucson Mountain Park where we have [unintended] social trails and we are really trying to address that…”

To volunteer, call 520-724-5000 and ask for Mark Flint with the Trail Stewards Program or email him at [email protected].