MVPF Launches "Little" Mountain School For Local Students

MVPF Launches "Little" Mountain School For Local Students

This spring our all-volunteer Mount Vernon Parks Foundation launched a new program it developed for bringing Mount Vernon School District fifth grade classrooms to Little Mountain Park. The intent of the field trips were to link the students’ experiences at the North Cascades Institute's Mountain School in North Cascades National Park to environments much closer to home…

Big Dig Day

Big Dig Day

We had a hugely successful launch to the 2017 build season yesterday and thanks to all who contributed! I was lucky enough to spend the day floating between working groups and got a great sense of the community of folks who use and love the trails of little mountain. It was inspiring to hear of trail runners, hikers, and mountain bikers who see these trails as their home mountain…

Our first orientation meeting

April 12th, 2017. Hillcrest Park, Mount Vernon, WA.

I am writing this while riding the buzz of excitement from our first orientation meeting on trail building practices under the helpful tutelage of James and Sean with the Mount Vernon Parks Department. We met this crisp spring morning to review the assemblage of tools and procedures we will be able to use towards building and maintaining trails at Little Mountain Park. We are moving into a new era of trail building partnership with the city, one which I hope will help us realize the goals set forth in the park master plan in a way which engages our community first hand with the stewardship of one of its greater resources. We had a solid turnout of volunteers – including several experienced local trail builders who have helped get the park’s trails where the are today. We went through the basics of trail and tool safety with James and Sean, from yellow jackets to Pulaski’s, and then had the chance to huddle and share our hopes for the coming work parties before returning to the usual Monday morning routines. The passion for trail building, and for the unique awesomeness that is Little Mountain Park, were as palpable as my cold toes. I am really looking forward to putting shovel to dirt in good company at our first work party April 29th, hope to see you there!