Maya McFadden Photo
Trailbazer Team uses hedge shears to officially open trail.
Solar Youth’s Trailblazers celebrated Earth Day by cutting the official opening ribbon on a new trail that connects West Rock’s Westville Manor and Rockview developments.
A group of seven youth hired by the nonprofit Solar Youth for its Trailblazers Program have spent the past several months picking up trash and clearing a walking and biking path for the trail. The group, led by Trailblazer Program Coordinator Harry Jones, hasn’t yet picked a name for the trail.
The young volunteers led community members and supporters on a walk-through of the trail Thursday to mark Earth Day. Each talked about what it was like doing the work.
About a year ago Jones proposed the idea to give the neighborhood a safe trail in the woods to the West Rock Nature Center. “At first it was nothing but trash and potential,” he said.
The trail connects both Westville Manor and Rockview to the West Rock Nature Center by foot and bike. The team’s next tasks are to build mountain bike ramps for bikers to use the trails safely and additional stairs.
“Exploratory” mayoral candidate and housing authority President Karen DuBois-Walton joined the gathering as a longtime supporter of Solar Youth. “There’s so much energy about getting young people off of the streets on their bikes and motorbikes, and this is a place that they can be on their bikes or their feet coming through,” she said.
Posted by Karen Du Bois-Walton on Thursday, April 22, 2021
On the walk-through, the Trailblazers stopped at a hefty pile of trash bags collected during the cleaning process of the woods.
“This is only part of our work,” said Jones. “There was so much trash out here.”
The team added a picnic table and quotations throughout the trail for visitors to hang out and gain inspiration while exploring. “When you read them we want it to feel like you’re not alone,” said Sa’hein Thomas, 19.
Next the youth led the group to the trail’s five tire challenges, where visitors must follow a set of rules to recreate a tire tower.
The activity is the first of many to be created along the trail for visitors to build creative thinking, problem solving, and communication skills, “without real-life consequences” Jones said.
The trailblazers are working with the city parks department to obtain benches and tables for the trail. A boardwalk beside the water, a second bridge, and a wishing well are also being planned.
The Trailblazers worked during all types of weather to get the project completed and open to the public for an earth day celebration. During the process they learned to be prepared for anything, the importance of contributing to their community, and establishing good work connections for their futures.
The team of young adults and teens includes Deamonte Godley, 19, Tewayne “TJ” Warbrough, 14, Sa’hein Thomas, 19, Zairquis Sanders, 20, twins Jordan and Jeffery Davis, 20, and Samuel Lopez-Perez, 14.
Jones hopes to expand the program into a group of about 20 youth in the future and to get involved with community spaces like the Botanical Garden of Healing Dedicated to Victims of Gun Violence.
While working, the team developed a family-like bond. The youth agreed working together was the easiest part, as they all knew each other from the neighborhood.
Jeffery joined the program after being handed a flyer one day while he was sitting on his porch. “It was something to do, and my friends were doing it,” he said.
The youth said they each learned skills for their future careers as athletes, movie directors, business owners, and activists.
“Working in the woods, I learned to be stronger physically and mentally,” said Jordan. “Being out here kept me out of trouble, and once I found the spot, I started being able to coming here on my own to clear my mind.”
