Water Trail Keepers Program

Trail Keeper Steward Training Sessions

Trail Keeper Stewards must attend a training session before beginning any Trail Keeper activities.

Training consists of a morning session, lunch break and on-the-water training in the afternoon.

Trail Keeper Stewards must register for the training session they choose to attend.

Email: Connecticutwatertrails@hotmail.com to make a reservation.

There are currently no training sessions scheduled

Stewards must bring their own boat and gear for this training

Trail Keepers Training Sample Session Agenda

9 am

Welcome and Introductions

Agenda Review

Program Overview

• Water Trails

• Connecticut Water Trails Program Trail Keepers

• Program Goals

• Sponsors

• Volunteer Jobs, Local Partners, Stewardship, Safety, Trail Keeper Protocols & Policies

9:30am

Stream Ecology and Urban and Urbanizing Watersheds

• Introduction to stream ecology and trophic relationships

• Biological indicators of stream quality

• Urbanization impacts on streams: effects of land clearing, impervious surfaces, hydrologic modifications, impacts of effluent (transferring water from one watershed to another), the watershed and the sewershed

Stream Dynamics and Their Impacts

• Siltation

• Erosion

• Incision

• Pollution

• Damming

• Straightening meanders

• Destruction of wetlands

 10:50 am to 11:00 am

Break

11:00am

What does it mean to be a Trail Keeper Steward?

Program Specifics – The problems, needs and solution, water trails

• Trail Keeper job descriptions, Local Partners requirements

• Trail Keeper policies & goals

• Safety on & off the water

• Trail Keeper safety protocols

•  Assumption of Risk form and liability protection

Steward Functions

Monitoring – water trail conditions, water quality and quantity, biological indicators, recreational use, hazardous pollution, obstructions and hazards

Reporting – “The Water Log”, biological indicators (River Watch and other programs), recreational use, hazardous pollution and obstructions

Maintaining – importance of woody debris, safe & sensitive removal of obstructions, safe use of hand tools and other safety considerations

Advocating —How to use knowledge of the condition of rivers, creeks and water trails (and the threats to them) to advocate for trail development, user safety, clean water and stream habitat

12:00 – 12:30pm

Working Lunch

Participants will bring sack lunches. During lunch volunteers will fill out Emergency Contact and Medical Condition information forms. Following lunch we will shuttle cars and boats to the on the water training site put-in at.

1:00pm – 4 pm

Paddling and Safety Training

• Gear & boats,

• Paddling & boat control

• Flatwater, moving water, wind, waves, wakes & weather

• Using a boat as a work platform

• Self & assisted rescue

• Safety plan for canoe trip

Water Quality Tests :

Phosphates, nitrates, fecal coli form, dissolved oxygen. Compare the results and draw conclusions regarding the conditions in dam pools versus conditions in free flowing waters. Understand how water quality can affect aquatic life and recreational users.

Obstruction Safety Training :

How to get yourself and your boat over or around obstructions without injury, what to watch out for when paddling and portaging. How to note location of obstructions and how to report them: using topographic maps, GPS, landmarks & GoogleEarth

Monitoring Recreational Use :

Note and report recreational users including numbers of people fishing, canoeing, kayaking, etc

Monitoring Outfalls:

Note outfalls and relative amount of discharge from them. How to report different types of problems.

Monitoring Pollution:

Point & non-point sources of pollution, recognizing hazardous pollution and when to stay out of the water; how to quantify pollution, how to protect yourself.

Who Do You Tell?

How to report different types of problems and following up on reports.