Adopt-a-Trail

Vassar College’s Adopt-a-Trail program engages students in hands-on volunteer work. Students come together to maintain a trail on the Farm and Ecological Preserve. Volunteers take ownership of a strip of land to ensure environmental prosperity that benefits the Vassar community, as well as the people of the greater Poughkeepsie area.

Objectives

1. To promote environmental engagement and sustainable land stewardship
2. To build community engagement
3. To foster a deeper connection to the native integrity of the land

Benefits

1. Interpersonal bonding
2. Enrich the mind, body, and spirit
3. Community service
   1. Maintaining the community in which we live
   2. Outreach to the broader Poughkeepsie community
4. Promotional Material
   1. Signage at the Vassar Farm and Ecological Preserve
   2. Recognition for your efforts through Vassar’s media outlets

Tasks​:

Volunteers will come together monthly to maintain the North Trail to uphold the goals of the Preserve. Equipment will be provided by the Vassar Farm and Ecological Preserve, the Office of Sustainability, the Student Conservation Association, and the Environmental Cooperative.

Duties include:

1. Cutting back encroaching vines or branches
2. Removing invasive species