The Rocky Mountain Field Institute is celebrating National Public Lands Day at Manitou Open Space. Volunteers are needed to help improve a badly eroded switchback by constructing timber steps and a retaining wall below the summit of Red Mountain.
The workday is scheduled for 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.. Saturday, Sept. 24. It will involve a minimum of two miles of hiking and gain around 924 feet of elevation, so it’s graded very strenuous.
Additional tasks include removing defunct structures and stumps, constructing drains and transporting timbers and hardware to the worksite.
RMFI welcomes volunteers of all backgrounds and communities. Feel free to bring friends and/or family members, as long as they’re 18 or older and everyone can stay for the entire workday.
Please register by 1 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 22; go to tinyurl.com/RMFIManitouOS for registration and information. Meet at the RMFI office, 815 S. 25th St., Suite 101 (in the old school between Hagerman and Howbert streets) to carpool to Manitou Springs.
For information about what to bring, visit www.rmfi.org/learn-about-volunteering.
Questions? Contact Calla Balliett, volunteer & partnership coordinator, 719-471-7736, ext. 4#, or calla@rmfi.org.