Haverhill Trail Stewards

About Haverhill Trail Stewardship Program

The mission of the Haverhill Trails Volunteers is to create, maintain and enhance the City's hiking trails networks for all to enjoy. Given the demands on funding and staff, the Conservation Department, Parks Department, and Department of Public Works do not always have the resources to effectively manage these lands. Without the Haverhill Trails Volunteers, our city wouldn’t be able to manage the extensive trail systems and open space holdings we have today.

As part of our City’s Open Space & Recreation Planning, Haverhill has a mission to provide accessible, well-maintained, long-distance trails for both transportation and recreational use. Through years of planning and conducting community surveys, we found that even more stewardship of our trails is needed to provide the best possible user experience - safe, clean, and fun to use year-round.

The Haverhill Trail Stewards Program marries our Trails Volunteers with the various trail users and groups of our community. Haverhill Trail Stewards are active visitors to their chosen sites, sending us observation reports, tidying up the trails as needed, and identifying needs for a larger group effort.

Like our Trails Volunteers, Stewards help to maintain existing trails, improve access, and support the responsible and safe use of the Haverhill Trail network and recreational areas for hiking, birding, cross country skiing, mountain biking and other passive recreation.

The Trail Steward program combines passive outdoor recreation with practical public service. Typically, citizens that join the Stewards are often regular visitors at one or several of the open space areas across the city. The biggest contribution you can make to our goal of maintaining and improving trail access is simply being our “eyes and ears” for your chosen areas, notifying us of major issues such as encroachment, dumping or inappropriate use of the site. Many stewards also pick up litter, move impediments, replace missing trail markers, and do light trimming to maintain the trail or make markers more visible.

• Monitor trails on a regular basis. We suggest a monthly visit to your chosen property, or at least once a quarter.
• Pick up trash and litter (Carry a bag for trash pickup)
• Remove fallen branches or limbs
• Cut back branches extending over trails
• Submit a Trail Steward Observation report at least once a month
• Report problems/issues needing immediate attention
• Update kiosks/fill map holder
• Suggest ideas for trail improvements and maintenance
• Attend our Monthly Haverhill Trails Volunteers Meetings
• Participate in volunteer workdays and events!