The Summer Youth Trail Crew: More Than Just a Summer Job
For the last eight weeks, five fabulous trail-builders-in-training joined SCMTS Trails Stewardship Coordinator, Katie Teschler, in the field daily. Jackson McIntyre (17), Josefina Bovee (19), Fiona Starsiak (21), Selin Childs (18), and Quinn Abbey (16), make up this year’s Summer Youth Trail Crew, a program designed to teach students valuable skills related to trail maintenance and life. This meaningful program is a product of a partnership between the City of Santa Cruz and SCMTS that demonstrates what happens when two organizations bring their resources together.
This year 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, and the all-new Westside Pump Track. Tasks included brushing, removing introduced species, paving with asphalt, drainage, and repairing trail tread.
In celebration of the Summer Youth Trail Crew ending this week, we interviewed the students to learn about their experiences. We found that each crew member gained important life skills and knowledge — and not just about trail work. Meet the team and then check out the interview below!
We hope you enjoy it, and if you want to see more programs like this please consider donating.
1. Tell us 3 things about yourself.
Jackson: I enjoy being in nature, mountain biking, and meeting new people.
Josefina: I like drawing, building projects, and monkeys :).
Fiona: I love to surf, read, and bake.
Selin: Loves to do art, camp, and sleep.
Quinn: I like photography, mountain biking, and cars.
2. What emoji(s) best describes you?
Quinn: 🌮🌯🚵🏻📸🏎
- Selin: 🐙🧚🥀🧃
- Josefina:🧚♂️🍽️🦧🥭
Fiona:🏃♀️🍪🐶🏞
Jackson:🕺🤑🔨🌯🌄
3. What is one of your favorite memories from the last 8 weeks?
Jackson: One of my favorite memories was seeing the westside pump track completed because many people came to check it out and it created a lot of hype in the community. It was great to see so many people taking interest after all the hard work we put into it.
Josefina: I liked hanging out with my coworkers, sharing music, making jokes and telling stories. Fiona kept saying I was like the crew’s “personal Netflix” while we were on site. I also enjoyed building the split-rail fence and working on the Westside Pumptrack, because it was cool to see a project all the way through to the end. One day while we were at the pump track Selin and I couldn’t stop laughing while we were trying to push a wheelbarrow and our arms kept giving out because we were laughing so hard which just made us laugh harder. I also liked working in DeLaveaga Park because I kept finding golf balls. It was like an Easter egg hunt.
Selin: I think one of the best parts of the job was having the balance of having fun with my coworkers but also enjoying some quiet time alone just listening to my music and thinking as I routinely cut back brush from the trails.
Quinn: One of my favorite memories was meeting so many new people from working at the Westside Pumptrack with some folks from SCMTS and the food truck that would be there for lunch, to working with John from Parks and Rec at Arana Gulch putting split rail in.
Fiona: After being isolated and behind a screen for the past year, I really appreciated working outdoors and exploring with such a fun group of people. All of my favorite memories involved swapping stories and laughing with the other trail workers. One special moment was when the entire staff at Santa Cruz Mountains Trail Stewardship came out to the West Side Pump track to work together to place asphalt on the track. At the end of the day, the entire staff was treated to lunch from Las Cabañas to celebrate!
4. What are some skills you’ve learned from the position?
Jackson: I learned different techniques for working with a variety of materials such as dirt, asphalt, and concrete.
Josefina: I developed so many construction skills like working with asphalt, concrete, and also learned social and networking skills.
Quinn: I learned how to work on pump tracks and all the different tools you need to work on a trail crew.
Selin: I learned the names of tools I had never seen before and learned how to be careful while using the tools to prevent straining my body.
Fiona: I learned more about the native plants in Santa Cruz, as well as how to build sustainable trails and different hand tools during trail work.
5. What was one of the most challenging tasks that you were faced with?
Jackson: When doing a lot of physical work it was challenging to find a good pace. It's important to get a lot done but you also have to pace yourself to last until the end of the week. While asphalting the pump track it was challenging to find a good balance between progress and preserving myself for the next day.
Josefina: Sometimes the workday would feel very long, tedious, and hot, especially when we were bent over brushing the trail. It took perseverance to get through it sometimes, but it was much easier when we were talking and joking.
Selin: I learned my lesson to cover up my ankles with socks and to spray on tons of bug spray after I got a big blistering spider bite that spread up my shin.
Quinn: One challenging thing that we did was pushing asphalt over the rollers at the Westside Pumptrack.
Fiona: There was a slight learning curve in the beginning for me, I experienced working a job that required physical work. It was challenging for me in the beginning because there was a heatwave during the first two weeks and we were hiking around all day carrying tools and clearing plants from the trail. Once I started bringing more sunscreen, lunch, and lots of water though I found the work to be much more enjoyable.
6. What life skills will you take away from this job?
Jackson: Learned how to use different tools and perfected new techniques
Fiona: I gained lots of good experience using different tools, and working a physically demanding job gave me confidence in myself and great respect towards others who do it. There were many moments that were physically very demanding and required some grit to push through, but I think that's a valuable skill to have, and will help me even after this program.
Josefina: I don’t want to be afraid of not knowing how to use a tool or being bad at something anymore, because it was really good to learn how to use the different tools and get tips about technique and stance when we were digging, building, and brushing.
Selin: The important factors and different techniques I learned about trail building will always stick with me so I can critique trails I walk on in the future and view them from a trail builder's perspective.
Quinn: I learned lots of skills with this job from making berms at Harvey West to brushing at Pogonip.
7. Do you have any new favorite trails or areas?
Selin: I loved seeing the ocean view throughout the day as we worked on the top of the hill near the Moore Creek trail
Fiona: I’ve only lived in Santa Cruz for a couple of months, and it was exciting to explore the trails in the area. I really enjoyed Moore Creek because of the view overlooking the westside and ocean. I also really liked Arana Gulch, and after working there have gone back a few times to go for a run there.
Josefina: I dug the Haunted Meadow and I really wanted to go back there with my friend. I also really liked the Moore Creek trail. We saw so many cool and pretty things while we were out there.
Jackson: I really enjoyed the Emma McCrary trail and I would like to go back there some time with my bike.
Quinn: I really enjoyed exploring more of Pogonip and finding new trails to go ride.
8. What was the most exciting animal you saw?
Jackson: A gopher.
Josefina: At Moore Creek, a tiny lizard ran across the trail and it was so small. I also liked seeing the woodrat houses that Fiona identified at Moore Creek. It was fun to guess what the woodrat was doing in there. I think it was probably drinking tea in a little outfit. Jackson misheard Fiona and thought she said it was a “woodrat crib”. I edited an MTV Cribs screenshot inspired by this experience.
Fiona: At one point when pulling invasive thistle at Moore Creek Selin and I looked up and we were completely surrounded by a herd of cows and calves!
Selin: Butterscotch of course :D.
Quinn: There were a few rabbits at the west side pump track in the mornings.
We want to thank the City of Santa Cruz Parks and Recreation team for partnering with SCMTS and making this program possible! And of course, one final huge thank you to our Summer Youth Trail Crew for the incredible work this summer. Thanks Jackson, Josefina, Fiona, Selin, and Quinn!
More about the Summer Youth Trails Program:
SCMTS has been leading the program for the last four 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.
