Project Photos

2022 June: Repairing the Boardwalk

A group of hardworking volunteers and two GSC staff met on June 28th to remove 80 old pieces of boardwalk and replace them with new, sturdy boards.  Friends of Hibou aim to keep the Interpretive Trail open and as safe as possible.  Given that it is offering us a place to walk through an area of Wetland, it is understandable that the water is going to have an impact on the trail. Walkers must be prepared for wet spots.  The boardwalk and graveled areas help keep the trail as walkable as possible.

2017 April: Beach clean-Up was a little earlier this year

The intent was to get to the debris while there was still a lot along the shore and that certainly proved to be correct.

The amount of debris was challenging at first but the hard working volunteers make an impressionable difference

We piled the debris back on the grass where it will be later moved by GSCA staff.  Notice how much cleaner the beach is in this picture taken just before we left.

2016 May: our annual beach cleanup

History tells us that a saw mill existed south of the beach. Every spring there is more sawdust pushed up along the shore. Volunteers meet on a designated morning with wheel barrows, pitch forks and work gloves to make piles where the GSCA staff can come in and dispose of it appropriately.

2016 Spring:  We were please with the help of volunteers again this year.

It was still quite cool when a group of people got together to build some of the new boardwalks we would need for replacing places in the wet lands.  Over the years the wood in some areas has rotted or been damaged in other ways.  We were grateful for grants that helped us get what we needed to do the work.

Fire pits build along the rough shoreline were dismantled:

 

2015:  Benches were ordered and placed in several different places:

New signs were designed and placed:

2014 :  First we had to prepare the trail for the new boardwalk.

Then the new boardwalk was put in:

2013:   Friends of Hibou originated in the Spring of 2013.  These pictures were taken in the spring of that year

In the spring there is a lot of water in the wet lands southeast of the road. We would later find that the beaver rules. It is not an easy task to keep trails dry in good repair.

We have been had boardwalks and the beach area since soon after the property was first purchased in 1973 but water levels and debris have made it less than attractive over recent years. Finally the water levels began to rise and use of the beach became more hopeful.