LGBTQIA++ hikers will explore something a little different this month. We will meet at the Hinesburg Town Forest to tour an active timber harvest with Ethan Tapper, the Chittenden County Forester. We’ll walk the timber harvest area, talk about forests, forest management, birds, and forest ecology.

Please register in advance for COVID contact-tracing purposes. Your information will be kept confidential and used only for COVID-19 tracing. To hold your spot, email Gwendolyn Causer at Audubon Vermont: gwendolyn.causer@audubon.org

Throughout our lives, many of us have been inundated with negative information about logging – close your eyes and you can probably picture big clear cuts, mudslides, and more scenes of environmental devastation. However, modern forest management is worlds apart from the logging that most people have been exposed to. Done well, forest management can be restorative and regenerative, creating more diverse, vibrant, resilient forests with better bird and wildlife habitat while producing a local, renewable resource. It can also be a force for good in our local and global communities: by helping producing local resources and economic benefits forest management can be a force for social, economic and environmental justice and equity, both here in Vermont and across the world.

Hinesburg Town Forest (HTF) is an 864-acre forest owned by the Town of Hinesburg and managed for wildlife, recreation, water, air, carbon sequestration and as a site for the demonstration of modern, responsible forest management since 1936. One of the main goals of active management of the HTF is to demonstrate modern forest management in an open, transparent and inclusive way, with a hope that this will promote a culture of greater understanding of what healthy forests and good forest management looks like.

Your Pride Hike co-hosts this month:

• Gwendolyn Causer, Teacher/Naturalist at Audubon Vermont
• Anne Moyerbrailean, Coordinator of Direct Services and Community Support at the Pride Center of Vermont
• Justin Marsh, Director of Communications and Development at the Pride Center of Vermont

To learn more about the Hinesburg Town Forest project, check out the links and resources here at: https://linktr.ee/HinesburgTownForest.
To learn more about similar projects in the south of the HTF and at the Andrews Community Forest in Richmond check out Story Maps on these projects here: https://arcg.is/09zfC1 and here: https://arcg.is/0yCGi.

Trail/accessibility information: The walk will happen “rain (snow, mud) or shine.” This will be an in-person event and will require uphill walking over uneven surfaces. Folks should be ready to spend a couple hours outdoors walking over uneven and potentially slippery surfaces in whatever weather we find ourselves in, and also to spend periods of time standing and talking. Warm layers will be your friend, and perhaps a thermos of tea. Some of our travel will be off-trail. Bathroom facilities are not available on site. If you require accommodations or have questions about accessibility, please contact Audubon Vermont at gcauser@audubon.org.

Pride Hikes are a collaboration between Audubon Vermont, the Pride Center of Vermont, and Outright Vermont.  Pride Hikes have been happening every month since June of 2018 and go beyond being "welcoming to everyone" to creating a safe, affirming space for LGBTQ community members. All ages, allies, and families welcome!

Youth under 18 years should be accompanied by a parent/guardian. Dogs are welcome as long as they are leashed.

COVID Safety: We are committed to our community's health & safety.  

We have developed safety protocols for our Audubon Center and our programs based on guidance from the Vermont State Health Department and the CDC. Masks are not required outdoors when people can be socially distanced, however they are encouraged for those who are unvaccinated. Please bring a mask to this event. If you do not have one, please reach out to staff and we will provide one for you.  Please see the Covid Data Tracker for more information about Covid-19 transmission rates by county in Vermont.  

We understand that some people - even those who are vaccinated, or those who have health concerns, or those who might just feel more comfortable - may choose to continue to wear a mask even when outdoors and distanced. We wholeheartedly support their decision and ask all program participants to be respectful of their choice. We recognize that the decision to wear a mask and comfort levels could change for individuals, even over the course of an event. Program participants should feel comfortable to ask others to physically distance. 

 Please do not attend if you are sick or symptomatic (with fever, cough, and/or shortness of breath), if you have received a positive COVID-19 test result within the last 14 days, or if you have had contact with any other person who is diagnosed with COVID-19 within the last 14 days.   

 We will be collecting COVID-19 contact tracing information from everyone when you register for the event. This information will be kept confidential and will be used only for COVID-19 tracing or to contact you should the event need to be cancelled or rescheduled.