Summer Youth Trail Crew Makes a Difference in City Parks
2022 marked the 5th cohort of our annual Summer Youth Trail Crew program! For the past eight weeks, four local high school students joined the SCMTS crew to tackle trail maintenance throughout Santa Cruz parks. Making up the crew this year was Loic Grankowski (16), Jaiden Castillo (16), West Carlson (18), and returning crew member from 2021, Quinn Abbey (17).
The crew worked in six City of Santa Cruz parks, including Arana Gulch, Pogonip Open Space Preserve, Harvey West Park, DeLaveaga Park, Moore Creek Open Space Preserve, Westside Pump Track, and Arroyo Seco Trail. The projects the crew took part in taught them countless new skills including how to maintain dirt jumps and pump tracks, hand finish newly constructed trail, brush trail corridors to eliminate overgrowth and improve sightlines, take out fallen trees blocking the trail, remove invasive plant species, install signposts, and repair or install fences.
Check out some of the work they completed:
This year we were fortunate to have a long-time volunteer and SCMTS Trail Sage, Travis Taylor, lead the Summer Youth Trail Crew. Upon completion of the program, we checked in with Travis to get his thoughts:
“The Summer Youth Trail Crew was very busy this summer and impressed me with the amount of work they accomplished in the eight weeks of the program. It always goes by too fast. We had difficulty filling out our six-person crew, but the four young people we hired took on the challenge and were successful. They arrived timely each day and were always ready to get started.
Throughout the summer, the SYTC tackled a variety of projects and learned skills that will serve them well in their future endeavors. They transformed from young people who enjoyed using trails to skilled workers with keen eyes for trail problems and the ability to remedy them.
The project I'm most proud of the crew for completing was the Sycamore Grove Trail project. We were fortunate that the approval for this project aligned with the schedule of the Summer Youth Trail Crew. It's always a special experience when you get to cut a brand new path and give people access to an area they've never seen before. I'm really grateful the SYTC got to put their knowledge and work ethic to good use on this project. They'll remember it forever, and the sense of stewardship will never go away.”
On the crew’s last day, following an ice cream party, we asked them a few quick questions from their time in the field. Check out their answers below!
What is one of your favorite memories from the last 8 weeks?
Quinn: Had to be meeting all the new crew members and making new friendships out there.
West: When we were working on the Sycamore Grove trail and we finally figured out how we were going to get the trail to work. We then started making progress, we finished up the trail, and it was a good feeling of completion.
Loic: Any time we weren’t pulling Broom.
Jaiden: When we were building the Sycamore Grove Trail. It was one of my favorites because we were working as part of the SCMTS Trail Crew and that was fun.
Do you have any new favorite trails or areas?
Quinn: It definitely has to be Sycamore Grove. That was definitely a fun experience working there. It was a great environment, right down by the river, under the trees, it was beautiful out there.
West: We were working in the Moore Creek Preserve and I really liked how it was very peaceful and there was nice ocean views.
Loic: The trail we worked on in Sycamore Grove is a really nice area, I like it!
Jaiden: Probably the Pogonip Nature Loop. I thought it was pretty cool how you’re walking right along the creek.
What was the most exciting animal you saw?
Quinn: Definitely the snakes and snake eggs!
West: A lot of deer. And a lot of deer that would get way too close to you and then you’d move a little bit and they’d run off. Definitely some very close encounters with deer.
Loic: One time a cat ran past us when we were doing heavy machinery work in Sycamore Grove. Yeah, just a house cat. It bolted right through haha.
Jaiden: A coyote. It wasn’t that far from us and I have never seen one that close before.
We want to thank the City of Santa Cruz Parks and Recreation team for partnering with SCMTS and making this program possible! Plus a HUGE thanks to the Summer Youth Trail Crew, Loic, Jaiden, West, and Quinn!
Pictured from left to right: West, Quin, Loic, and City Santa Cruz of Parks and Recreation Director, Tony Elliot. (not pictured is Jaiden and Travis)
Meet the Crew:
More about the program:
Do you know someone or are you yourself interested in joining the Summer Youth Trail Crew next year? Sign up now for our mailing list here and we'll send you an email reminder as soon as hiring opens in April 2023.
SCMTS has been leading the program for the last five years, and the City of Santa Cruz funds student staff time and partial SCMTS staff time.
The program runs for eight weeks from June - August, and applications are open starting in April on the City of Santa Cruz website.
