The Great Dismal Swamp Wildlife Refuge is currently constructing a boardwalk path in the refuge. The current project is approximately 75% complete and the refuge is attempting to complete the project by the end of this winter. Volunteers are needed to complete the project.
Community engagement is paramount to the continued preservation and conservation of our wild areas. In order to maximize community engagement, the public must be able to interact with and experience the wild areas that need protection, but we must also ensure that involving and engaging the public does not also damage the ecosystem. Great Dismal Swamp has many miles of trails open to hikers and bikers, but the majority of them are the remains of logging access roads. While these road trails provide easy access to deep within the refuge, visitors’ experience of the refuge still must remain limited as they are confined to the trails for safety – both their own and the habitat’s. Boardwalks allow us to safely bring visitors into representative portions of the swamp habitat, allowing them to experience what this unique habitat is like.
Volunteers will be building a boardwalk trail through a portion of forested shrub-scrub wetland. The ultimate goal is a 1500 linear foot boardwalk trail through this wetland connecting too existing drivable trail. Volunteers will be doing any of the following: clearing the trail route of vegetation and small trees with hand tools, cutting lumber to necessary lengths with hand and powered saws, laying out, nailing, and screwing lumber pieces together to construct the boardwalk. No construction experience is necessary. Refuge staff will provide instruction and supervision as needed. 4-6 is an ideal crew size, but one volunteer still makes an impact to get more work done in a given day.