Outreach/Education Committee Meeting
Northwest Trail Alliance has kicked off the development of an exciting, new program in the realm of youth and education, and we welcome everyone's involvement.
The goal of our newly formed Outreach/Education Committee is simple: get more people on mountain bikes and teach them riding skills and proper trail etiquette.
For this first year our focus is on clinic-style teaching of youth and novice riders at Sunday Parkways, at the Portland Short Track Series, and possibly at other summer events. If this sounds interesting to you, please attend our next meeting on Monday, January 11th at 6:30pm at the NW Lucky Lab (1945 NW Quimby).
If you have any questions please email Brian Baumann at brian@nw-trail.org.
Price: $0.00
- Type:
Upcoming Events
- Intermediate Women's Ride-Sandy Ridge, May 26, 2012 - 2012-05-26 09:45
- Stub trail building - XC/AM - 2012-05-27 08:45
- Stub Freeride area build day [W.T.F.] - 2012-05-27 09:00
- Women's Group Meeting - 2012-05-29 17:00
- General Membership Meeting - 2012-05-29 18:00
Hey Joe
I am meeting with Lee (not confirmed yet) before the next General Meeting to discuss an NWTA Trail Patrol possibility with him. It is just the beginning stages of what could be a valuable program for all riding areas. He is very motivated to get something going, and has been a part of Patrol programs in Colorado.
Sooo many places
Sooo many places anybody can jump in and help with stuff. It's amazingly overwhelming to one that is a volunteer...
Figure if people are interested in a trail patrol, but NWTA doesn't have that program yet... then one could join the Tillamook trail patrol (which needs mountain bikers) to gain the expertise... or, get involved directly with the National Mtb Trail Patrol (http://www.imba.com/nmbp/)...
We needed an organized mtb trail patrol for the Forest Park and Rocky Point areas like yesterday... Here's why: #1 its an additional way local mountain bikers can be a resource to land managers, #2 it helps with communication to trail users (surprise, many of which don't belong to ANY club), and #3 it can be a way to recruit new volunteers/members.
there's a lot of value in a healthy well lead mountain bike trail patrol.
Is a trail patrol -
Is a trail patrol - which has an education/outreach component - part of this program?
Re: Trail Patrol
Joe,
Good question... there are various activities that we engage in - like group rides, camp-outs, and our presence at bike events - that have an educational or outreach component. The current focus of the new outreach/education committee is on clinic-style teaching of novice and junior riders (I added that to the original posting).
The development of a formal Northwest Trail Alliance Trail Patrol Program - similar to the Tillamook Forest Patrol we are already involved in, or the IMBA National MTB Patrol - is an idea that is currently being reviewed by the board. However, before we get rolling with such program, we need to ensure that we have the necessary volunteers lined up to manage the program, as there is not much value in having a trail patrol that is only occasionally active. In addition, we would need to identify the trail areas where such patrol is needed/desirable and where the land manager is fully supportive of such patrol.
If the board decides to develop a trail patrol program (even just a pilot in one area), we will most likely create a dedicated trail patrol committee for that purpose.