NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – On Feb. 21, 20 volunteers from The Environmental Club at the University of California, Davis and Pioneer High School spent their Saturday morning working hard to help restore the Blue Ridge loop at Stebbins Cold Canyon.

Tuleyome, a conservation nonprofit, and the UC Natural Reserve System – who own and manage the land – guided the group in three restoration projects all designed to divert and capture water in the right places.

With the morning fog receding down the canyon, the group started a steep half a mile hike up to the staging area.

Paul Havemann of the UC Natural Reserve System then explained the overall goal of the restoration project and our goals for the day.

Half of the hard work was simply carrying the heavy supplies up the trail to where they would be used.

Getting an unexpected workout, the volunteers carried 10 water bars and three long erosion blankets, weighing 50 pounds each up the trail.

If you’ve ever gone hiking after a heavy rain you will be familiar with how trails, with little to no natural resistance, become temporary rivers.

The water bars volunteers installed help divert flowing water to the sides of the trail, preventing deep erosion trenches and getting water to the plants that desperately need it.

The erosion blankets, made out of coconut fiber and straw, also help to prevent water erosion and hold water for the native seed bank to reestablish.

The group installed these biodegradable blankets where people who cut the trail have killed all vegetation and added to the erosion problem.

To help prevent further degradation of the area, please stay on designated trails at all times and politely tell others to do the same. 

The next round of trail work will happen from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, March 21. What better way to celebrate the first day of spring than to spend the morning outside, giving back to the trails you love?

Thank you to UC Natural Reserve System for organizing the projects, to Andrew Fulks and Bob Schneider of Tuleyome for the use of their tools, and to all of the hardworking volunteers.

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