Posts Tagged ‘volunteer’

City of Glendale Mountain Bike Patrol Program to Launch

Thursday, November 8th, 2012

The City of Glendale has announced that their Hiking and Mountain Biking Patrol program is ready to launch. They are seeking volunteers interested in spending a few hours per month riding or hiking the trails of the Verdugo Mountains. Applications are available from the City’s Community Services and Parks Department. Mountain bikers will be required to attend the CORBA Free Skills Clinic. Following is the announcement from the City:

 

 

At long last we are pleased to announce that applications are now available for the City of Glendale’s volunteer Trail Safety Patrol (TSP) program.

We ask that, at your earliest convenience, you stop by the Community Services & Parks Department at Glendale City Hall to pick up your application packet.  The Department is open every day from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday; and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday.

At that time, we would like to take a few minutes to get acquainted (this is not a formal interview), then have you pick up your application packet and proceed to our Human Resources office where you will receive information on the mandatory fingerprint and background check that is required of all City volunteers. 

Glendale City Hall is located at 613 East Broadway, Glendale, CA 91206.  The Community Services & Parks Department is located on the first floor in Room 120.  Please ask to speak to Iris Hidalgo.

The Human Services Department is also on the first floor of City Hall, across the lobby, in Room 100.  Please ask to speak to Ando Vardanyan.

Free Visitor Parking is available in the City’s parking structure on Wilson Avenue, north of Broadway and west of Glendale Avenue.

Your application packet will include the following:

  • TSP Application Form
  • TSP Physician Approval Form
  • TSP Insurance Information Form
  • TSP Bike Liability Waiver 
  • TSP Hike Liability Waiver 
  • City Volunteer Registration Form/Conviction History 
  • City Volunteer Agreement Form

Please note that the mandatory fingerprint/background check and the mandatory liability/bike insurance will be obtained at no cost to you. 

You need to sign either the Bike Waiver or the Hike Waiver, not both, depending on which unit you are applying for.  If you are applying for the Hike Unit, you only need to fill out the top portion of the Insurance Information Form.  All other forms must be completely filled out, signed, and dated.

As soon as you have completed all the forms, please return them to the Community Services & Parks Department, 613 East Broadway, Room 120, Glendale, CA  91206.  If we were unable to meet when you picked up the documents, please return them in person so that we have a chance to meet face to face.

The application packet must be returned to us no later than November 30, 2012.

Please note the following important dates:

  • Saturday, December 1, 2012 – members of the Mountain Bike Unit must take the CORBA Mountain Bike Skills class at MalibuCreek State Park from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.  All members of the Mountain Bike Unit must pass this course in order to be part of the Trail Safety Patrol.   

      Please go to:  http://corbamtb.com/programs/skills.shtml for more information.

  • Sunday, December 2, 2012 – members of the Hike Unit must meet in Brand Park at 9 a.m. for the hike test up the Brand Motorway.  All members of the Hike Unit must hike the 6.2 mile route of the Verdugo Mountains 10K in under 2.5 hours.

·        Saturday, December 8, 2012 – all volunteers must undergo the mandatory 8-hour training program to be held in the Glendale Police Department’s Community Room from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.  The Police Department is located at 131 North Isabel Street, Glendale, CA  91206.  A free visitor parking lot is across the street from the station.      

We know this is a lot to digest, so if you have any questions, or if there are any problems, please feel free to call me at the number below or simply reply to this email.  If you have any friends or colleagues with mountain biking or hiking skills who you think might be interested in participating, please have them contact me.  We can always use more excellent volunteers.

We look forward to working with you to make this an outstanding program that benefits all those who use Glendale’s trails and open space.

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Posted in Free Basic Skills Clinic, MBU, Verdugo Mountains | Comments Closed

CORBA is part of a larger multi-use oriented Volunteer Community in the Angeles National Forest

Tuesday, February 28th, 2012

Feb 2012 Volunteer NewsletterIn many discussions between different trail user groups, the fact often emerges that we all share many common goals and attitudes about trails. Most trail user groups want to help maintain trails for the benefit of all; they want to minimize damage to our public lands, while preserving recreational access in perpetuity. We want to protect and preserve what precious little open space remains for future generations to enjoy and recreate; we want our children and successors to be able to experience the great outdoors, learn from it, and be inspired by the wonders of nature. We want to see responsible trail use, with mutual respect for other trail users, for wildlife and nature, and for the environment.

Where all these groups sometimes differ is how we choose to enjoy our public lands, and the extent or methods of the protections needed to achieve those goals. Some choose to ride mountain bikes; others prefer to hike, trail run, climb, ride horses, take OHV’s, sail, kayak, camp and and any number of other activities. We all seek the peace of the forest and to escape the city in our great mountains. While there are differences, the common grounds are what should bring us together.

This is nowhere more evident than in the Angeles National Forest, where trails (outside of wilderness areas) are all multi-use. The Forest Service’s multi-use policy fosters cooperation and where needed, compromise between these groups. Every other month volunteers from the LA River Ranger District of the Angeles National Forest gets together with forest officials to be updated on what’s happening in the forest, what each group is working on. We share information and first-hand reports of our accomplishments, our upcoming projects and our observations with each other and Forest Service officials. It’s a great way to coordinate activities, and set up collaborations that further our common goals. Similar meetings take place in other districts in this, and other National Forests.

The various volunteers groups are each passionate about what they do, whether it is acting as campground hosts, patrolling trails, doing trailwork, protecting and documenting forest history, restoring habitat, removing invasive plants, or just disseminating information and respect for the forest among their members and supporters.

Each month intrepid volunteer Guy Kuhn puts together the volunteer newsletter, a summary of the reports and interactions from each of the meetings and gleaned from the web sites of each volunteer group. CORBA reports on our trailwork projects, completed and upcoming, along with fellow IMBA chapter Mount Wilson Bicycling Association. Forest officials give us the inside information on what’s happening in the forest, and what we can expect in the coming months. We learn the fiscal and other challenges faced by the forest, and look for ways to contribute.

The multi-use policy and resulting cooperation between user groups is a win-win for everyone involved. The Forest would be hard-pressed to function without its volunteers.

If you’d like to learn more read the latest volunteer newsletter featuring reports on trailwork projects from CORBA, MWBA, San Gabriel Mountains Trailbuilders, Mounted Patrol (equestrian), Angeles Mountain Bike Patrol, Sierra Club, Boy Scouts, Forest Lookout association and other groups.

 

 

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Posted in Angeles National Forest, Media, San Gabriel Mountains, Trail Crew | Comments Closed