Volunteers needed for final bike trail work day at Vandergriff Elementary School

The bike trail project will be built in several phases. The first phase includes the green route and a portion of the red routes shown above.

Source: Vandergriff Elementary

Volunteers are needed for a final work day to help build the first phase of a new bike trail at Vandergriff Elementary and McNair Middle School in east Fayetteville.

Participants may work for as long as they’d like, and are encouraged to bring work gloves and a water bottle. Food and water will be provided.

The soft surface trail will start near the north side of McNair, and will head north toward Township Street where it will wind through the woods north of Vandergriff and then loop back to the school.

Volunteers will meet on the west side of Vandergriff Elementary near the flag pole at 9 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 17, and will spend the day completing the final work needed to make the trail rideable.

Jason Edwards, assistant principal at Vandergriff, said the trail started as an Eagle Scout project for former Vandergriff student Drew Rutledge, but has since evolved into a large-scale program to provide a place for students to ride bicycles during PE classes as well an outdoor area for classes studying nature. He said the trail will be used exclusively by students during the day, but it will be open to the public after school hours.

Edwards said if 30-40 people show up to work Saturday morning, the path should be ready to go by mid-afternoon.

Assistance for the project is being provided by Ozark Off Road Cyclists and Progressive Trail Designs.

For more information, call 479-527-3600 or email [email protected].