Every fall and spring, Audubon Vermont staff and volunteers gather for a work day at the Green Mountain Audubon Center to get a variety of important projects done. It’s a fun day spent mostly outside and an opportunity for staff to bond across departments. We work on projects that we don’t normally have the capacity for throughout the work week by splitting into groups. Each year our work parties bring necessary improvements and change to the center. Read on to learn about some of the improvements you can expect the next time you visit.
New Accessibility Signage for Trails
We are thrilled to announce the installation of new signage that provides accessibility details for all our trails including trail distance, elevation gain, tread/surface type, maximum grade, and whether or not the trail has benches or staircases. Placed at key points across the center, these signs provide essential information at a glance, allowing people to make informed choices based on their individual needs. This initiative not only enhances the visitor experience but also promotes greater inclusivity, ensuring that folks can plan to enjoy and explore our beautiful natural spaces in a way that works best for them.
A special thanks to youth conservation intern and AmeriCorps member last spring who went out and gathered all the trail data to highlight on these signs and designed them with recommendations from Birdability.
These signs were made possible by The Amplify Fund powered by the M&T Bank Charitable Foundation.
New Sugarhouse Railing
If you’ve been to the center in the past year, you might have noticed that the staircase next to our sugarhouse has had a railing with little structural integrity. Well, no more! Thanks to Eli Olson from Slater Construction, we now have a brand new, sturdy railing for folks to hold while they climb the stairs. The new design has a lower railing for kids to hold on and a lip for folks to grab onto if they slip. Thank you!
Out with the Old and in with the New
At the end of last year’s sugaring season, our arch cracked. The arch is an essential structure that holds the evaporator pans above a woodfire. Staff were able to haul out the old arch to be picked up and make space for a new one. While the sugarhouse is a bit more empty than it was to start, come sugaring season our new arch will be fully installed and ready for a boil!
Winter Trail Maintenance
With stronger windstorms come bigger and more challenging blow downs. A few staff walked trails with chainsaws to clear large trees and debris from the trails for easier passage. Others moved boardwalks/bridges from the trails before they freeze in place and get in the tractor’s path during sugaring season.
Smaller projects happened as well! Moving wood, cleaning our office and education barn, and hanging art.
Thank you to our wonderful staff and to Slater Construction for installing the railing.
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