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Wildcats unite for exercise trail repair

In an effort to beautify campus and the surrounding wilderness area, 25 volunteers with the Community Involvement Center and the Weber State University Student

Photo By: Cade Clark
Jesse Cleveland, Nick Housted and Stuart Call help the Community Involvment Center with efforts to beautify campus and the surrounding wilderness.

Association cleaned up and repaired the exercise and running trail on the east side of campus Wednesday afternoon from 12-4 p.m.

Various clubs and organizations from WSU came together to groom and clean up the trail. Students from the Environmental Initiatives Team, the Volunteer Involvement Program, VISTA, WSUSA and Civitas could be seen digging holes and raking weeds.

Some students working on the trail said they were amazed by the view of Ogden City. Heidi Hidalgo, a member of the Environmental Initiatives Team, noted that it was one of her favorite perks of the service project. She said it is inspiration for people to go out into the environment and be more active.

“The view, getting some physical activity, getting some hours, being with the club, all of that,” Hidalgo said. “I’m glad that we’re cleaning it up, and Weber gets to enjoy that.”

Derrick Davey, also an Environmental Initiatives Team member, said he enjoyed the hands-on aspect of the service project and was excited to go out and do some environmental work around campus.

“Give a man a shovel and tell him to go play,” he said. “I just like playing with tools.”

The service project served many purposes, and was also known as the Homecoming Week Service Project. Mike Moon, assistant director of the CIC, said he believed the project would highlight WSU’s relationship with the local Ogden community.

“In a way, we are tying the community, who is the major beneficiaries and users of the trail, and Weber State together, because it’s on school property,” Moon said.

The circuit trail is about two miles long. Every quarter mile, there are different exercise nooks designed to help hikers and trail runners work different muscle groups. According to Moon, who has run the trail numerous times, the idea is to run the trail and get a full-body workout.

“I think it should be more well-known,” he said. “It is actually a really cool trail.”

Julia Saxton, WSUSA service vice president, said she saw plenty of people on the trail during the four-hour service project.

“Those who know about the trail will utilize it,” Saxton said. “I think, in our efforts to clean it up and to make it not so lumpy . . . we will be able to make the trail more marketable.”

The work isn’t finished yet; Wednesday’s project was just the first step and preparation for Make a Difference Day, which is scheduled for Oct. 27. This day will also be dedicated for Club Service Day, and on-campus organizations and clubs are encouraged to join the project at 9 a.m.

“Today we are kind of grooming the trail and preparing the exercise dugouts for the mulch,” Moon said. “Ogden City has donated the mulch for this project, and it will be put in these exercise nooks on the 27th of October.”

Saxton said she encourages WSU students to register for the Volunteer Involvement Program and become more familiar with the service projects going on around the community and campus. Ideally, she said, she would like to see more volunteers showing up for the second round of trail cleanup on Make a Difference Day.

“Too many students see service as an obligation to themselves, not as an opportunity,” she said. “I’m not going to lie; working on this trail made me want to go running.”

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