SEEDS EcoCorps is wrapping up on a season of hard work at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore with support from the National Park Foundation (NPF) and training from National Park Service (NPS) employees.

At Sleeping Bear EcoCorps crew members, who are primarily young adults, cleared overgrown trails; built drains to prevent erosion; repainted trail markers; removed brush at historic farm properties; constructed and installed new signage; and assisted NPS staff in post-storm trail clearing including improvements to three miles of trail on Alligator Hill.

SEEDS EcoCorps intends to give its crew members first-hand experience in careers related to the restoration of public and private lands, installing and maintaining ecologically regenerative landscapes, small-scale farming, and green stormwater infrastructure.

Assistant crew leader Isabell Astor shared, “I’ve been going to Sleeping Bear Dunes ever since I was young, so working there was really fun. Getting to work with the National Park Service and getting to understand how the park is maintained was just a really cool experience.”

EcoCorps crews did all this using hand tools — not big machinery — including clearing downed trees from multiple areas of the Park using both manual two-person cross-cut saws and chainsaws. Crews also replaced a boardwalk in Glen Haven.

As the NPS works to address its significant deferred maintenance backlog with additional funding from the historic recently enacted Great American Outdoors Act, NPF is proud to continue engaging young leaders through service corps like SEEDS EcoCorps.

Crew work continues in the park through fall.