Work Parties

Work Parties are normally held the 2nd and 4th Saturday of the month. Additional work parties may be scheduled in April for High School students needing community service hours. Want to receive email notifications of future work parties and guided hikes?  Visit our sign-up page and enter your email address there. x

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Saturday, April 26, 2025 
RAINDATE Sunday April 13 at 1:00 pm (note time change)
Woodsend & Paugussett Trails at Housatonic Woods

Update Saturday 4/26 7:45 am: The work party is on! Bring your rain coat! 

Help us fight off the Japanese Barberry from taking over the trails at Housatonic Woods. This is still a relatively new loop, and the thorny Barberry keeps trying to grow back into the trail. Repeated cutting and digging it out is the only solution. Trail map is HERE.

Meeting location:  For GPS directions, click HERE. Meet at Sinsabaugh Heights off of Meadow Street. Drive all the way down the hill to the back of the Senior Housing complex, then go left at the bottom to find a few visitor parking spaces near a small dumpster. There is also alternate parking at the end of Mayflower Lane (after parking, walk down the blue-blazed trail to Sinsabaugh Heights). 

What to bring, if possible: Sturdy footwear!! (absolutely no Crocs).  White sneakers will not be white at the end of this work party.  Be prepared to work in thorny vegetation. Thick pants or jeans, not stretchy, are best. Leather work gloves recommended. 

Weather cancellations will be posted on the Trails Blog Work Party Page. 

SHS Community Service hours: Be sure to bring your own community service form and pen. Fill out the parts you can ahead of time. 

Upcoming 2025 Work Parties: 

May 10, 8:30 or 9:00: Location to be determined.  

May 24, 8:30 or 9:00: Location to be determined

 

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Join Us on Facebook

If you’d like to read or share information on Shelton Trails – including reports on conditions, flora and fauna sightings, lost and found, or anything else trail-related – check out the Shelton Trails Events & News Facebook Group. Click “Join Group” in the blue bar just below the cover photo to request to join the group.

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Trail Monitors Wanted!

Want to help outside of regular work parties? Become a Trail Monitor! "Adopt" a trail you walk regularly, remove any small obstructions, and report bigger issues to the Trails Committee. We can clear the trails much faster if we know exactly where the problems are. For details and information on which trails are in need of a Monitor, have a look at the Shelton Trails Monitor blog page.

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Our To-Do List

Wondering what's on our plate? Check our Trails To-Do list.  Let us know if there is something you think should be on there. We might not know about it. 

Meetings: Open to the public,  held the first Wednesday of the month, bring cookies.

Work party schedule: Usually held the 2nd and 4th Saturday of the month.

What to bring: Depending on the season, be sure to bring ample water to drink, bug spray, and gloves (leather gloves are best if there are briars).  Permethrin-based spray on clothing will kill ticks.  Please bring your own tools if possible (depending on the job, this might include pruners, loppers, hand saw, rakes, grub axe, shovel, etc). In most cases, the Trails Committee will bring along a few extra tools, but if more people than expected turn up, there could be a shortage of tools.

After doing trail work: Rubbing alcohol is an effective solvent to remove possible poison ivy sap on skin. Do a thorough tick check every 24 hours.