Category: South Side Park

The Mount Washington CDC Emerald Trail Corps has completed their work on South Side Park for the summer. Here’s an update on the work done from the project manager:

Today I walked the completed trail loop, which includes the lower leg of the paved trail at the southern end of the park, the plateau area and a brief jaunt through the Quarry Field parking lot and along the sidewalk at the end of the field, with a mileage roller. The total trail distance came in at just under a mile (approx .9 mi) at 4,909 feet.

Of that total, the Emerald Trail Corps completed work through reroutes and intensive maintenance on 2,512 feet of trail (just under .5 mi). This is only for portions of trail which we moved a significant amount of dirt to form or reform the trail tread and not trail area brushed or where the existing and remaining tread received light maintenance.

In addition, we removed around 8-10 bags of garbage including broken glass as well as a couple of tires from the trail corridor. We reinforced two water crossing which intersect the trail with rock inlays and shut down at least 300 feet of old trail which was either highly eroded or no longer necessary in the trail plan. We did not keep a count of how many vines were removed or trees we needed to fell in the process of clearing the new trail corridors.

– Thomas D. Guentner,  Emerald Trail Corps Project Manager

Conservation Begins Here.

The Student Conservation Association (SCA) SCA is America’s #1 conservation service organization seeks qualified applicants to lead, educate, and inspire high school students for the 2014 Pittsburgh summer program

Lead, mentor and coach a crew of 5-6 students, ages 15-19, while completing various conservation service projects designed to build an ethic of community and environmental stewardship. Projects include a range of activities such as trail and park maintenance, habitat restoration, revitalization of abandoned urban properties or to urban agriculture and run for 6 weeks at a time. In addition, leaders will facilitate pre- and post- program planning which includes crew training, environmental education and reporting. The 2014 Pittsburgh Program locations include:

• Frick
• Highland
• Schenley
• Riverview
• South Side
• Pittsburgh Parks
• Hazelwood
• East Liberty
• Green spaces in Pittsburgh

Program Dates:June 30th – August 10^th, 2014

Qualifications:

• Must be at least 21 years of age
• Must be able to legally work in the US
• Current First Aid certification & CPR required by the start of training
• Experience working with youth or young adults (ages 14-19)
• Ability to perform manual, physical labor for up to 8 hours per day, exposed to the elements. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move 40 pounds or more.
• Must be able to attend mandatory Crew Leader training: June 5 – 14th, 2014

• Ability to meet SCA’s criminal background check standards

Compensation: $4025 total salary depending on funding, experience & crew length.

To Apply: Please visit www.thesca.org/employment for a detailed description including information on how to apply. Leader applications are accepted only online. For questions, concerns or more information contact scaPittsburgh@thesca.org and/or nschaefer@thesca.org.

SCA is an EOE dedicated to workforce diversity.

For more information about SCA, visit us at www.theSCA.org

In the South Side Park decades of neglect allowed invasive vines to cripple much of the ecology. Use of the park was almost exclusively by dirt bikes and partying campers, further eroding the landscape and forest and littering the park.

Throughout the past several years our volunteers and the Student Conservation Assocation (SCA) have worked constantly to improve the South Side Park for use and preservation. Hundreds of trees have had their trees disentangled from invasive vines, garlic mustard has been removed in droves, and japanese knotweed has been eradicated as much as we can. Many tons of trash have been removed. Through it all, the goal has been to allow for a healthy forest and for a pleasant and peaceful place to visit.

To improve the park more permanently though we really need people to use it. One of the long-term goals has been building a trail system that can be utilized by walkers, joggers, and hikers throughout the 65 acres of forest. One of the best things for the South Side Park will have to people walking the trails and using it in an eco-conscious manner.

The first step to this is getting all of the trails blazed with painted way-signs, so users can follow the trails easily. There are a lot of crisscrossing paths within the forest due to deer, mountain bikers, and dirt bikers, so it is incredibly confusing without the signage. To build upon the way-makers we need permanent wooden signs marking the junctions. We also need trail maps both printed in map-form and at the entrances. Lastly in the trail department we need to sign the entrances to invite people into the park as so few people know that it even exists, or what it contains.

Please help us continue to save our forest by encouraging its use, and using it yourself! Please join us for a fundraiser on June 3 at Acacia to help support these efforts. Click here for more information.