PRESS RELEASE: Rivanna Trails Foundation–– Between construction of the Meadowcreek Parkway and the seemingly endless sewer replacement project, a number of sections of our beloved Rivanna Trail have been closed all year. Despite that, the dedication of our volunteers and our partnerships with property owners and the City have enabled us to mark detours and rebuild quickly, and the coming months promise both the restoration and continued expansion of our network of trails. The coming year will be–quite literally–one of reconnection.
It is also a time for the Rivanna Trails Foundation to reconnect with our members and supporters. Towards that end, we have a completely new web presence at http://www.rivannatrails.org/. The new site allows us to better communicate news and information about the trails, post news and photos, track registrations for special events, and accept on-line memberships and renewals. Behind the scenes is a new membership database that we’ve assembled from various spreadsheets and email lists, which will allow us to better acknowledge and communicate with our friends (the message sent earlier this week about the postponement of the annual meeting was the first test of the new email capability).
If you’re getting this message, it’s because we already have you–or at least your email address–in our database. Please take a moment to log into our new page and update your contact information or renew your membership. At the bottom-left corner of the page is a “forgot password” link that you can use to generate an initial password.
There are a number of great trail events planned for the next few weeks:
October Work Party: This Saturday, October 8, our monthly work party will finish the rerouting of the trail section immediately north of Hydraulic Road that was begun on the Day of Caring (see the story and photos on the web site). We’ll meet at the RTF Tool Shed, behind the English Inn at 2030 Morton Drive, and make the short walk to the work site.
Loop d’Ville: November 5 is the annual group walk of the entire 19-mile loop. We meet at Riverview Park 6:30 AM, and work our way counter-clockwise around the entire loop. After rest stops at Bodo’s and 5th Street, we usually finish around 2:00 in the afternoon. If you prefer to complete only part of the circuit with the group, that’s okay, too! Please sign up for this event–it helps our planning to know how many people to expect–which you can do on the new web site.
November Work Party: We have an extra-special work party scheduled for November 12, when we will be establishing a new section of the Rivanna Trail loop replacing the long roadwalk along Stribling and Sunset. As part of clearing the new trail, we’ll be building a stream crossing. This will be an exciting opportunity to help create an entirely new link in the Trail!
As always, we value your support and interest in the Rivanna Trails. We look forward to seeing you on the trail!
The RTF Board of Directors