Trail Care Volunteers Needed It's your Park, so get involved, get your hands dirty, and get ready for a great summer! The Friends of Fish Creek Trail Care Program: - Helps to restore some overworked areas of the Park back to their natural states and creates more sustainable trails for all users - Helps strike a balance between environmental concerns and the recreational needs of people who use Fish Creek Provincial Park - Reduces the impact of trail use on the Park through reclamation, rehabilitation, and education - Protects highly sensitive areas from users, and upgrades and improves bicycle trails in less sensitive areas - Educates users about responsible trail use - Offers volunteers the chance to come to the Park and get their hands dirty Riding on undesignated and unofficial trails is now illegal according to new Park regulations, and it increases erosion, damages vegetation, displaces wildlife, and bothers other Park visitors. With Trail Care, we will be uniting some of these existing trails, blocking off other trails, and developing new and exciting features. Mountain bikers will hopefully find the new trail thrilling enough that they will stay on it; giving damaged vegetation in the Park a chance to re-grow. The Friends need Trail Care volunteers to help build the trail. Families, individuals, companies and other groups are all welcome. Summer 2008 Trail Care Outings Wednesday, July 23 - 5:30-8:00 pm Saturday, August 2 - 10:00 am-2:00 pm Saturday, September 20 - 10:00 am-2:00 pm Saturday, October 4 - 10:00 am-2:00 pm Please contact Chris Lalonde, Trail Care Team Leader, for more information or to help out on one of the above days: 238-3841 or chris@friendsoffishcreek.org Please note: we request that volunteers be at least 16 years of age because of the physical nature of this work. Other Volunteer Positions PARK CARE PROGRAMS Show you care with Park Care. Throughout the year we host special one-day events that benefit the health of the Park in a variety of ways and require help from volunteers. Fish Creek/Bow River Clean-up: Volunteers sweep the banks of the Bow River and Fish Creek clean of trash and refuse Held in May, this event improves habitats for wildlife, especially wetland environments Following the flood of 2005, this event attracted over 715 people Invasive Alien Species' Events: These are annual events where volunteers help to pull alien plant species that are very damaging to the Park. Invasive alien plants displace wildlife, out-compete native vegetation, reduce biodiversity and have very few or no natural predators. Come out and help us eradicate these nasty weeds. Purge-the-Spurge in June - Started in 1999 - Today, in North America, more than five million acres are infested with Leafy Spurge and that area is doubling every 10 years - This noxious weed can produce thousands of seeds and has root systems reaching over 9 m in length - Pulling this weed will prevent seed dispersion and deplete food energy stored in roots Tackle-the-Tansy in July - The flowers of the Common Tansy have been used as medication, embalming, and insect repellant - Plants are between 50 and 150 cm tall with a cluster of yellow, button-like flowers - Plants can be toxic if consumed by people or animals Battle-the-Burdock in August - Common Burdock has bright purple flowers and prickly seed heads that disperse by attaching to animals or people passing by - Digging up these weeds with shovels and other tools, and disposing of them in garbage bags will prevent their spread Wildlife Monitoring Program - Allows Park volunteers to learn more about their favourite animals - Is a critical resource for managing the Park and provides people with an opportunity to study local wildlife - Monitors beavers, garter snakes and amphibians - Offers special projects on wild flowers, owls, and deer, and demonstrates that wildlife is an important indicator of the Park's health top Last updated: June 24, 2008