More than 30 students from the Tyrone School District, Grier School and Greentree Village spent part of the summer and fall taking part in the Blazing Trails program. The students helped clean the lower trail from Williamsburg to Alfareta.
“This is an all volunteer student program in which students from Tyrone, Greentree and Grier school districts,” said the program’s advisor Tom Coleman. “We are going down in the next couple days to stain the benches on the trail.”
The program was funded through a $32,000 grant that the Tyrone School District procured.
“The grant acquired to create a volunteer program to perform maintenance and improvements to a trail,” said Tyrone grant writer Sam Dean. “This program was a great benefit to the students who participated. It helped make them aware of many community resources. It helped to give them the opportunity to work with leaders in the community.”
Throughout the summer and early fall more than 30 students participated in the program.
“This was a very fulfilling program for both the advisors and students,” said Coleman. “It helped us as adults get to know the kids on a one-to-one basis. It also helped the students work on responsibility and teach them a good solid work ethic.”
The students and advisors worked side by side clearing brush, cleaning up the trail and painting benches to improve the trail from Williamsburg to Alfareta.
“The students enjoyed themselves,” said Coleman. “They had the chance to get out and work the trail and enjoy the scenery. While they were working, there were many people who were riding on the trail and the people took time to thank the students for the nice job that they were doing. The compliments that they were receiving were giving them a sense of accomplishment. I felt this was a great program and if it is continued, more and more students would take part.”
The Blazing Trails program is supported through a grant.
“We are looking into the possibility of reapplying for the grant this year,” said Dean. “It was great to work with the kids and that the kids had the opportunity to see hands on that they were making a positive difference.”
