IAT-U Virtual: Volunteer Ramp Up (and Wrap Up)

Join us for the Volunteer Ramp Up (and Wrap Up): Thursday, Nov. 16

Get the latest updates on all things Alliance- and volunteer-related from the comfort of your own Internet-connected device.

All members and supporters are encouraged to attend!

Formerly known as the Regional Rally, this fun, informative event will take place virtually from 6:00-8:00 pm.

  • Hear what we’ve achieved in 2023.
  • Get a preview of what’s on the schedule for 2024—trainings, Trailbuilding, Maintenance, Habitat Improvement, and more!
  • Learn about outreach strategies to activate volunteers.
  • Get important updates from Alliance staff.
  • Learn how you can get involved as a volunteer, both on and off Trail.

And more!

Register for free, here:

 

IAT-U Virtual: Property Monitoring

The Ice Age Trail Alliance, an accredited land trust, permanently protects land for current and future Ice Age Trail. Property monitoring, a crucial practice, helps the Alliance maintain its land trust status.

Claire Finucane, Property Steward, will explain the Alliance’s annual property monitoring program and what it means for our properties and easements. She will cover the who, what, where, when, why, and how of property monitoring, and how volunteers can get involved with spring and fall monitoring.


IAT-U Virtual: How an Idea Becomes Ice Age Trail – Trail Planning and Development

A ribbon-cutting ceremony at a newly completed segment may well be 20-plus years in the making. Come learn what it takes to turn a good idea into miles of sustainable tread.

Before the picks hit the dirt, there are many steps to making the Ice Age Trail a reality. Alongside planning the Trail line, there are compliance issues to navigate: considering endangered species, cultural artifacts, and more.

Join members of the Trail Team to learn about important behind-the-scenes steps to be taken during Trail planning and development.

This is the third in a three-part series:

IAT-U Virtual: How an Idea Becomes Ice Age Trail – The Corridor

A ribbon-cutting ceremony at a newly completed segment may well be 20-plus years in the making. Come learn what it takes to turn a good idea into miles of sustainable tread.

Join the Trail Team and guests from the National Parks Service to learn about the county-by-county process of establishing a statewide IAT corridor. Some of the questions we’ll answer include:

  • What counties have an established corridor?
  • What counties are in the queue?
  • What are the benefits of establishing a statewide corridor? How long does it take?

We’ll pull back the curtain on the behind-the-scenes processes that help make the Ice Age Trail a reality!

This is the first in a three-part series:

IAT-U Virtual: How to Make the Most of Your Membership

Curious about this organization you just joined? Deepen your connection to the Ice Age Trail community with this in-depth overview of the Ice Age Trail Alliance. Learn about:

  • Alliance programs and the organizations we partner with to accomplish our goals;
  • Volunteer chapters and the ways you can connect with this vibrant community;
  • Resources available to plan your next adventure-U
  • Plus, get your questions answered by staff!

Presenters: Eric Sherman, Membership Coordinator and Amy Lord, Outreach and Education Manager

Date: Monday, November 14, 2022

Time: 6:30 – 7:30 pm

There is no IAT-U without … YOU!

Ice Age Trail Alliance, Ice Age National Scenic Trail, Ice Age Trail University, IAT-U

Photo by Michael Maziarka

The secret sauce of our wildly successful and award-winning Mobile Skills Crew program?

Well-trained volunteers. Absolutely.

When the Mobile Skills Crew trailer pulls up to a work site, the flurry of activity that follows is nothing short of astounding. Tents are set up, meals are cooked, trails are built and boardwalks constructed. Much of what is accomplished, over the course of a few days, happens, in part, because the Ice Age Trail Alliance staff is able to rely on knowledgeable, capable volunteers. Individuals who have raised their hands and said “YES” to learning new skills or deepening their existing capabilities in service of the Trail. Continue reading

Summer Camp for Trail Wizards!

Ice Age Trail Alliance, Ice Age National Scenic Trail, IAT-U, Ice Age Trail UniversityIce Age Trail University is summer camp …

… for Trail wizards of all ages. Plenty of fresh air, good sunshine, and happy times learning new things.

The best way to learn is by doing, and we’ll be providing lots of hands-on learning!

We’re super excited to partner with the Merrill Area School System and the Friends of the Merrill School Forest to build two boardwalks, and super excited about this year’s Camp Chef course.

North Central Technical College is offering a special training through their Culinary Arts program. It’s an exciting time for those who want to become more involved in the volunteer-support side of our Mobile Skills Crew events. Continue reading

Hands-on Learning on the Merrimac Segment and at IAT-U

Ice Age Trail Alliance, Ice Age National Scenic Trail, Mobile Skills Crew Event Sauk County, Merrimac Segment

Photo credit: Dave Caliebe
The Baraboo Bluffs are beckoning…this is the view the Trail reroute will provide.

“Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keep learning stays young.”

~ Henry Ford

Educating and Empowering volunteers to build maintain and steward the Ice Age National Scenic Trail is the cornerstone of the Ice Age Trail Alliance Mobile Skills Crew Program. In the words of Henry Ford, “Anyone who keeps learning stays young.” If this is true, then our end-of-summer MSC event in Sauk County is a veritable fountain of youth.

Bring your youthful back-to-school spirit, because the best way to learn is by doing, and we’ve got a substantial, hands-on Trail improvement project in the works. This section of Trail meanders through the beautiful Riverland Conservancy owned Merrimac Preserve, near Devil’s Lake State Park. A dilapidated bridge and boardwalk will be replaced, ready for their own infusion of youthfulness. Continue reading