As The Advocate for the Outdoors, Coleman has joined together with the Appalachian Mountain Club in support of AMC’s efforts to engage more people, particularly youth, in trail stewardship. The joint effort between Coleman and AMC, the oldest non-profit conservation and recreation organization in the United States, will help further the goals of Coleman to encourage all people to get outdoors more and enjoy what nature has to offer. Initially efforts will be focused on AMC’s Trails Challenge program.
With an influx of new volunteers for its Trails Challenge program, AMC seeks to increase its trail stewardship commitment by five miles a year, per AMC Chapter, during the next five years, for a total of 300 additional miles maintained by local volunteers. This will help governmental land management agencies and organizations throughout the Northeast focus on more resource-intensive major trail projects.
AMC maintains 1,500 miles of trails from Maine to Washington, D.C., including 350 miles of the Appalachian Trail.
In addition to Trails Challenge, Coleman will support a number of other AMC programs. The company will provide AMC with financial support, outdoor products for use and testing, and with expert technical support. Coleman’s support will help AMC establish a trail maintenance component for its A Mountain Classroom and Youth Opportunities programs, which collectively work with 9,500 young people in the Northeast to make the outdoor environment accessible through educational programming. Additionally, resources provided by Coleman will offer AMC assistance to recruit chapter volunteers as trail stewards, reach out to local land managers and identify trails in need of additional maintenance.
The Coleman support will fund AMC’s hiring of a Trails Challenge coordinator to engage volunteers in AMC’s 12 regional chapters and local communities in New Hampshire’s White Mountains. Plus, AMC will add an educational coordinator at its Pinkham Notch Visitor Center in the White Mountains.
Beginning this fall, many of AMC’s trail volunteers will gather to set program goals, discuss strategies to recruit volunteers, and set a schedule for the trail work. Initial plans include a series of training and trail events, such as family outings for volunteers and prospective volunteers, throughout the spring and summer of 2007. Coleman and AMC will work jointly to publicize these events.
For more information on how you or your group can become involved, contact www.outdoors.org.
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