Trail adoption helps maintain Bloomington parks

For the last three years, the Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department has formally selected volunteers to help maintain local trails.

“As our Bloomington trail system has expanded, the upkeep was a tremendous issue we were having,” Special Services Coordinator for the Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department Kim Ecenbarger said.

“It’s just hard for us to be at all places at all times, so we felt that by creating an Adopt-A-Trail program, we could access some of our volunteer resources and good stewardship resources to let us know about the issues going on with our trails so we can respond more quickly.”

Bloomington has more than 30 miles of trails within its city parks.

With factors such as erosion, fallen trees and blocked trails, the department was facing difficulty with all of the maintenance, Ecenbarger said.

There are currently seven trails available for adoption. Some of these trails include portions of Clear Creek Trail, Griffy Lake Nature Preserve and the Wapehani Mountain Bike Park. Volunteers are required to adopt a trail for a minimum of one consecutive year. There are a variety of trails to choose from such as paved, natural, urban parks and nature parks.

The Adopt-A-Trail application is available every programming season, which is three times a year. The deadline for this season is Friday. Once the volunteers are selected, the year contract will start on a date yet to be announced in March.

“We look for somebody who has interest in our trail system," Ecenbarger said. "Somebody who can commit to the one year timeline, somebody who wants to bridge communication between what’s going on in our trails and with our community. Someone who will be a good representative of the Parks Department and a good public steward overall,”

The City Parks Department already has a diverse range of volunteers including two IU fraternities, Alpha Phi Omega and Sigma Phi Beta, retirees and community organizations.

Volunteers are required to inspect their trails and submit a report of inspection at least once a month. They must also implement a work day once a year, a day where they carry out their trail’s improvement plan, catered to each trail’s specific needs.

Because each trail is unique, the City Parks Department will make sure each volunteer is familiarized with his or her adopted trail. For example, in an urban park, its volunteers must be wary of sidewalk issues and vandalism.

“This is a flexible volunteer activity,” Ecenberger said. “It’s enjoyable, and you’re doing just as much for yourself as you are for the Parks Department and the community. It really is a great program that shows stewardship and collaboration at its best.”

Scott Burgins, a long-time Bloomington resident, has adopted the Leonard Springs Nature Park for two consecutive years. Burgins shares this trail with his daughter, Hannah Murray. The Leonard Springs Nature Park is a little more than a mile long, residing in south of Bloomington.

Burgins said the upkeep isn’t too demanding, especially because the City Parks Department is able to help with any issues the trails may have.

“The thing that I find interesting is that if we see something and report, it, they fix it,” Burgins said. “For instance, a couple months ago, someone had left pink spray paint on a cave there. I filed my monthly report and the next time I came out, the city crews had come and removed it,” Burgins said.

Burgins and Murray said they have plans to renew the trail once again when their contract is expired.

“It’s something for my daughter and I to do together and once a month we’re guaranteed to go out and take a nice, beautiful walk,” Burgins said.