Ben: Outreach on Trail-Building

For the last two summers I was a lifeguard for the town of Lake George at the public beaches.  It's easy work and pays well, so it's a really good summer job.  However, I have really bad ADHD, so it is super boring for me to sit still.  I was talking to my mom about getting a job at some place like Gore Mountain to build mountain bike trails.  That way, I could gain experience in the job I want to go to college for.  Right now, I want to go to college for Ski Resort Management, and after college I want to be a Terrain Park Designer in the winter and a Mountain Bike Trail Builder during the summer.  But I'm a junior, so that could change (though I highly doubt it).

Over the summer, I was trying to gather information on trail-building so that the next summer I could gain some experience.  I was talking to everyone.  I learned about places like Gore Mountain and the Lake George Land Conservatory.  My close friend, Owen, told me he had a friend who works for a company that builds trails.  Owen gave me his friend Andrew's contact information and I texted him the messages below.

Benjamin: 
     Hello Andrew,

     My name is Ben.  My friend Owen told me you are a trail builder and gave me your contact information.  I’m 16, going into my Junior year, and when I get out of high school I want to go into a career in trail-building and snow park building.  I want to build mountain bike trails like downhill, cross country, slope style, dirt jumps, etc. in the summer months.  During the winter I want to build ski and snow parks.  

     I'm looking for some information about what sort of skills and training would put me in a good position to be hired and excel at the job (college? trade school? etc.).  Would you have time to let me know your thoughts on this (as well as giving me an idea of what a typical day at work looks like for you)? And finally, so that I can get more experience, do you know of any places that I might look into for a summer job?

     Thank you so much for your time.

Andrew: 
     Hi Ben, I'm Andrew.  Rry I couldn't respond sooner, I had a cross country meet yesterday.  I joined the trail crew at the beginning of this summer when I was 17 for my summer job.  It's meant for college age kids, but I had a lot of training doing trail work with the teen trail program run by the adk mountain club.  So they hired me.  Anyways, this is probably the best entry level job for you if trail building is what you're aiming to do.  I'm not sure what precise degree, but if you do this as a summer job, there's quite a few people u can get options from.  The best school would probably be SUNY ESF in Syracuse.  Probably the most important skills would be practice with hand tools like rock bars, mattocks, axes, shovels, and rakes.

     A good place to get training would be the teen trail program.  It's a week long course where u camp out and do trail work at a job site.  It's really fun.  I did it for 3 years in a row and I feel like I learned a lot from it.  Also Moreau Lake has trails days every once and awhile.  That could be good training too.  For my job exactly, you can find information about it by just Googling "Saratoga trail crew."  It's a team of 4 of us.  We're based out of SPAC, and we're probably hiring at least one or two people next year.  Our boss normally assigns us different projects, and we travel to various state parks around the capital region.  Normally if we're making a new trail he will have already flagged and designed it.  Then we go make the trail for him.  We also build bridges and drainage systems.  If you have any more questions, feel free to ask.

Benjamin:

Thank you!

Andrew:

No problem!

At the same time, my mom, who works for the town, was asking around.  One of the people she talked to recommended that I approach the town and offer to build mountain bike trails for them.  So, we set up a meeting and I approached the mayor and I told him that I wanted to build technical trails for mountain biking at the Transfer Station (where the cross country running and skiing trails are).  I met with him so I would know if he was interested.  I would then know if it was worth the time to write a proposal. 

He suggested that I offer to work half the day as a maintenance worker and the second half the day building trails.  We talked about stuff I would need, compensation, and if it was actually possible for any of this to happen.  At the end of the meeting he gave me some maps of the land at the Transfer Station.  He told me I should write a proposal for a upcoming town meeting.  I wanted to cover everything, but I also wanted it to be short (so that it could get read at the meeting).  The proposal is below:

Proposed Mountain Bike Trail (addition to Transfer Station Trail System)

What do I want to do?
I want to build technical mountain bike trails with berms (banked turns), natural obstacles (roots and rocks), and a few features (jumps and bridges).  It's been suggested that the Village hire me as a seasonal worker:  scheduled for a few hours a day with normal seasonal responsibilities and the rest of a day to build trails.

Where will I build this?
I would build these mountain bike trails off of the cross country running/skiing trails at the Transfer Station.  Exact trail location to be decided (but within the existing trail boundaries).

How will this help Lake George?
In Lake George there is a lack of mountain bike trails, which is unfortunate considering that the Adirondacks are known for mountain and forest recreation.  In Lake George, the mountain bike trails are too far from the village and are largely unknown.  Having mountain bike trails closer to the village will bring mountain bikers, both locals and tourists, into the village, which will boost the economy when they stop for lunch or buy a keychain at the gift shop. It is giving Lake George one more activity than the next town, so they choose Lake George.  

What do I need?

Common yard tools, such as shovels, rakes, saws, clippers, and wheelbarrows.  Occasional help from a back hoe would be nice, but I can do without that if it's not possible.  

A few days after the meeting I got a call from the mayor and he told me my proposal got approved!

David Flink Visits Kildonan and IP

David Flink (@DaveFlink) is a sort of celebrity in the LD world.  He approaches dyslexia from a mindset of pride, and due in part to this upbeat mentality, he earned a Bachelor’s degrees with honors in Education and Psychology from Brown University and a Master’s degree in Disability Studies in Education from Columbia University.  More notably, still, he co-founded the organization Eye-to-Eye while still a student in 1998.  As reported on the program's website, Eye-to-Eye (@E2ENational) strives to develop:

...a network of youth mentoring programs run by and for those with learning differences, and [organizes] advocates to support the full inclusion of people with learning disabilities and ADHD in all aspects of society.

Kildonan prides itself on having worked with David to create the first high school chapter of Eye-to-Eye in the nation.  It was a pleasure, then, to have David attend Founders' Day and mingle with assembled students, faculty, parents, grandparents, and relatives.

During his time on-campus, David gave a riveting keynote speech.  Using a humorous story, he shared kernels of advice for our dyslexic students:  self-advocacy, transparency and acceptance of one's LD, and a graceful sense of humor and patience.  He also provided a book signing in celebration of his first text, Thinking Differently.  Composed as a semi-autobiography, this book speaks directly to parents to help them understand dyslexia, successfully advocate for their children, and instill independence in them.

Finally, David toured the IP building.  He traveled between students, stopping to speak with Bull about his octopus, Clancy on nanomedicine, and Piterson on his wooden skeleton.  Ultimately, he expressed admiration for the program.  He asserted not only that IP's model could encompass an entire school but also that it should support the learning of all students, LD and otherwise.

Thank you, David, for visiting Kildonan!

Please post in the comments section below.

Description of images:  David Flink touring the IP building with Karl Oppenheimer, Sandy Charlap, and IP students.  All photos taken by the IP faculty with permission of David Flink.