On Friday, May 8, 70 volunteers from the Bend area joined The Conservation Alliance for a day of field work in the sunny Badlands. This enthusiastic group was a collection of individuals that work for local Conservation Alliance member companies Ruff Wear, Footzone, Pandora's Backpack, Moon Photo and Quick Feat International, as well as representatives from Oregon based non-profits organizations that have received funding from the Alliance. Oregon Natural Desert Association, Oregon Wild, Trust for Public Land, Save our Wild Salmon, Deschutes Land Trust, Central Oregon Landwatch and WaterWatch of Oregon each set up a table to share information with the attendees about projects and initiatives that are happening around the state of Oregon.
The day started at noon with lunch served by Tate and Tate Catering and time for participants to learn about local projects. The beautiful desert setting was augmented by live music provided by Micah Wolf. Having his chill sound provided backyard bar-b-que feel to the afternoon; we hope to continue this partnership at future events!
At 1pm Friends of the Badlands leader David Eddleston explained the various work opportunities and split the volunteers into smaller groups who then headed out into the Badlands to post new trail signs, clean up trailheads and camouflage old roads for 4 hours in the warm afternoon sun. Sunburns, great conversations and good work filled the afternoon and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. Once the work was done the group reconvened at the Oregon Natural Desert Association offices in downtown Bend to share in a keg of Badlands Bitter Ale provided by Silvermoon Brewery and listen more of Micah Wolf's music.
Check out the tallies from the day!
- 62 volunteers participated for 4 hours, 248 volunteer hours
- Aprox. 324 total miles walked by volunteers
- One volunteer on horseback, with Pack saddle horse, dropping off old jumper fence posts for installation, (prior to the event), 12 hours
- 60 lbs of trash collected! – about 45 lbs of garbage from the Old Borrow Pit at the south end of Larry Chitwood Trail, and about 15 lbs from Reynolds Pond Trailhead
- One sign repaired, with a new juniper fence post.
- Two brand new signs installed, one at Badlands Rock Trailhead, one at the south end of the Larry Chitwood Trail
- One brand new marquee reader board and large map installed at Larry Chitwood Trailhead
- 3 obsolete side trails closed with juniper material
- Two obsolete carsonite posts pulled
- One keg of Badlands Bitter Ale consumed (at the after party of course!)
This Friday, May 15, we will host another Backyard Collective in Boring, Oregon, just 40 minutes outside of Portland. Participating member companies include KEEN, REI, Patagonia, Horny Toad and Moon Photography. Participating non-profits include Save our Wild Salmon, Oregon Wild, Clackamas River Basin Council, Oregon Natural Desert Association, WaterWatch, Trout Unlimited, Friends of Boring Trails and Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center.