Volunteers needed for nature trail workday Oct. 12
The Eagle Nature Trail, which connects Eagle Elementary School and the Alice Baker Memorial Library, will undergo a cleanup effort Saturday, Oct. 12 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The Eagle Lions Club will assist with the project and while a crew from AmeriCorps is scheduled to arrive later this week, it is not certain whether they will make it due to the lack of progress in the nation’s capitol.
According to Jean Weedman, the chair of the Eagle Nature Trail Committee, the AmeriCorps group brings with them a “remarkable amount of youthful help in clearing evasive species in the trail area, comprised of Village of Eagle and Palmyra-Eagle Area School District land.”
Jerry Ziegler and The Nature Conservancy, Weedman said, set up the workday for when the AmeriCorps crew is slated to be in the area to help with conservancy projects.
“Special thanks (to Jerry and the conservancy) for their thoughtful consideration of the trail’s needs,” Weedman said.
On Saturday, the continued focus will be the removal of buckthorn and previously cut and fallen trees from the wooded area as well as removal of weedy and shrubby, non-native vegetation from the prairie area. And, weather permitting, according to Weedman, the wood structures along the trail may be stained.
While the trail committee was seeking additional community volunteers all along, that need has now grown since there’s a chance the AmeriCorps crew won’t make it.
“Community volunteers further our work and AmeriCorps crews have a mission to involve community members in their work periodically,” Weedman said.
The Eagle Nature Trail is an ongoing, community project, according to Weedman. In addition to the local Lions and AmeriCorps volunteers, many other community members have generously stepped forward and are appreciated.
“This summer, members of the Palmyra-Eagle High School National Honor Society worked on the trail once again, for close to 80 hours,” Weedman said.
Those willing to volunteer Saturday should wear work-appropriate clothing; other equipment that may be useful includes work gloves and shovels.
A lunch is planned for Saturday therefore, anyone planning on helping is asked to RSVP. To do so, contact Weedman at (262) 594-5996 or
weedmantandj@aol.com.
For more information about the southeast Wisconsin Nature Conservancy, contact Ziegler, who is also a board member of the Southeast Wisconsin Invasive Species Consortium, at (262) 642-7276.
