If you are looking for an exciting and satisfying volunteer opportunity that helps people to enjoy our Nation's natural resources, then volunteering with the Western Michigan Chapter of the NCTA may be for you.

Volunteers make the Chapter's mission of building, maintaining, and promoting the NCT a reality. Whether your interest involves building new trail, swinging a Pulaski, painting blazes, mentoring a kid, or just coming out and boosting the team's morale, we can use your help.

No experience is necessary, just a willingness to learn and do a good job! Whatever your skills, wherever your interest lays, we can use your help. Consider joining in on one of the following initiatives...

Before the first branch of a new trail is trimmed out of the way, there's a significant amount of work that goes into 'building' the Trail. Volunteers who are interested in a break from the physical work, or are just not interested in wielding tools, can be of real value in doing what, arguably, are the most important tasks of building new Trail.

Identifying potential future routes and determining who owns the land in question are critical tasks. Landowners need to be contacted to see if an easement is possible. Once permissions have been granted, scouting the land is in order to determine the most scenic and sustainable route for the trail.

Often trail building requires money to buy the necessary supplies, so volunteers are also needed to write applications for grants and make sure the Chapter has the tools it needs to get the work done.

Volunteers are also needed to hike the trail and assess its overall state. While members of the Trail Crew can certainly make assessments when performing their seasonal maintenance, a single volunteer that can walk across multiple sections, focusing on the condition of the trail and its associated structures, can create an invaluable summary on the health of the Trail.

The Western Michigan Chapter's formula for successfully building and maintaining quality trail is centered on a large crew of experienced, energetic, and willing volunteers. The Chapter is always looking to add new volunteers to its ranks. By volunteering to coach and support a young or inexperienced volunteer, you can help to strengthen the Trail Crew. Simply put, a volunteer that ends the day with a rewarding experience is one that will gladly offer their time and energy in the future.

Trail Crew

The Western Michigan Chapter's Trail Crew is responsible for the final stage of trail building - the physical labor from which visitors to the Trail benefit. When new trail or structures need to be built, the Chapter puts the call out to its volunteers. All are welcome to step in and help - there's no willing hand that sits idle.

The Trail that's found within the Chapter's territory is divided up into 20 sections, ranging from just under two-miles to eight-miles in length. Maintainers visit their assigned sections in the spring, summer, and fall. Using only hand-tools - such as loppers, pruning shears, and bow saws - they clear the trail of brush, fallen trees, low-hanging branches, and other obstacles. They also make sure the familiar blue-blazes marking the Trail are well defined.

Chainsaw Crew

Strong winds and ice often mean downed trees. When the job is too much for a maintainer to handle, the call goes out to the Chainsaw Crew. These elite volunteers are trained and certified to use power tools for removing trees that have fallen over the trail. Safety is first for these folks - additional training in first-aid and CPR is a must. The cost of training and personal protection equipment, such as requisite boots, is covered by the Chapter.

The Western Michigan volunteers that support the Trail Crew are just as important at ensuring a day's work gets done as those who are in the woods building new trail, pushing mowers, and swinging axes. These folks help by preparing refreshments or lunches that fuel crew members laboring long hours on heavy projects.

Woodworking

The Chapter engages volunteers with woodworking skills to build kiosks, road crossing posts, and other items - work that can be done from home at one's own pace against a fairly flexible due-date. All materials related to construction are paid for by the Chapter.

Between Chapter members, their friends and family, and national publications, one would think that the North Country Trail would be well known in the outdoors community. However, talking about the NCT often results in blank stares - people are simply unaware of what's in their proverbial backyards.

Trail Evangelists have the mission of spreading the word about the NCT in Western Michigan. They take photos at Chapter events and write articles about the Trail for the Chapter newsletter and other publications, in addition to giving presentations about the trail to local community groups.

Spreading the word about the Trail can be a great opportunity for those who prefer to work from home, as volunteers with basic computer skills can assist with tasks such as the layout, design, and content of the Chapter's newsletter, website, Facebook page, and other media needs.

The Chapter also introduces the public to the Trail by holding outdoor-related workshops and hikes on the NCT. Examples of workshops include orienteering, edible plant identification, outdoor photography, and winter camping. In addition, the Chapter hosts numerous hikes along the NCT throughout the year, from walks lasting a few hours to multi-day backpacking adventures.

Whether you choose to help build, maintain, or promote the Trail, your effort will be sincerely welcomed. In helping the Chapter deliver on its mission, you'll meet great people, learn new skills, and walk away knowing that your accomplishments resulted in a positive difference.

Getting started is easy. All you have to do is contact one of the Chapter's two volunteer coordinators.

If you are interested in helping the Chapter build or maintain the trail, contact Paul Haan at paulhaan1@gmail.com.

For those interested in spreading the word about the NCT, please contact Andy Mytys at amytys@followtheblazes.com.

Become a Chapter volunteer today! If you have a skill to share, it will be a tremendous help in completing the blue-blazed trail across Kent and Newaygo counties. We truly look forward to having you on our team of dedicated volunteers.