Sonoma County is getting a new park! Just outside Monte Rio, our friends at Sonoma County Regional Parks are preparing land in the Dutch Bill Creek area, which will be part of a newly established park for the community to enjoy in the future. Our corpsmembers are happy to have the opportunity to help make this new space accessible and have cleared and re-established an old logging road for recreational enjoyment and are also building brand-new paths and picnic areas for park visitors to enjoy. They flag the paths laid out by Regional Parks staff and scrape the terrain to make the trails. Corpsmembers have been able to use their chainsaw training and skills to remove trees that would block future trails, earning more hours towards their Sawyer certifications. This work contributed to a hike and bike trail system in the soon-to-be park.

Corpsmembers also spent time preparing other sites in the area for public access, removing over three hundred pounds of trash to give flora and fauna a chance to thrive in the beautiful redwood grove. Wherever possible, they have transplanted ferns out of the way of the new trails. Corpsmembers have snapped pictures of banana slugs and scorpions while out in the woods, and even relocated a protected Giant Pacific Salamander to safety with the help of their supervisors!