Monthly Archives: November 2018

Church group tackles invasive species

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Photo of Life Point Church groupMost of the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail has wooded edges that is habitat for a diversity of wildlife. The trees, shrubs, vines and herbaceous ground cover provide fruit and seeds, green browse, winter cover, nesting sites, and protection from predators. One of the many services that Isabela Torres, our 2018 summer intern, provided was to design a long-term plan to increase the quality of the wooded edge of the trail. Engaging volunteers to remove invasive species and to plant native ones is a big part of that plan. Isabela established a volunteer data base of churches, schools and other groups to provide volunteers to remove invasive plants.

The first group to volunteer was from LifePoint Church of Goshen on Oct. 7. According to pastor Michael Hays, “LifePoint sent these volunteers to work on the Pumpkinvine Trail as part of our ‘Go Sunday’ celebration, where we all gathered at church briefly that morning to then go out into our community and show God’s love through service. We had groups volunteering all over Goshen. The Pumpkinvine is a valuable part of the community, so when we learned of a need for some work along the trail, it seemed like
a good project to add to our list.”

The 12 volunteers, along with Bud Wulliman from the Friends board, worked on the Pumpkinvine south of Abshire Park, removing tree of heaven saplings from the edges
of the trail. They lopped off the woody stems and sprayed the cut ends with herbicide. In
preparation for the volunteers, Aaron Sawatsky-Kingsley (Goshen City Forester), Bud Wulliman and John Smith (volunteer naturalist) had marked invasive plants for removal.

Increasing the quality of the wooded edges of the Pumpkinvine is a long-term, on-going project. Volunteer groups of Friends of the Pumpkinvine and outside groups, such as LifePoint Church, will be needed from May through October each year. Look for calls for volunteers in upcoming Friends of the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail Newsletter and Facebook page.

Riding the Pumpkinvine reduces stress

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Photo of Lori CopseyIf you are a Pumpkinvine “regular,” chances are you might have seen Lori Copsey on the trail. A 25-year Goshen resident and avid cyclist, Lori Copsey lives near the library, so it’s convenient for her to access the trail at Abshire Park where she begins most of her rides on the Pumpkinvine these days.

Before the Pumpkinvine was built, Lori would ride the Millrace Trail in Goshen, because she doesn’t like to ride on the street. However, once the Pumpkinvine opened, it quickly became her trail of choice.

“I prefer to ride on the Pumpkinvine, because I like to go hard sometimes, and there aren’t as many walkers,” Lori says. For her, riding the trail has physical and mental benefits.

She has a busy yet rewarding career as a Behavior Consultant for the Elkhart County Special Education Cooperative (ECSEC), which serves the Baugo, Concord, Fairfield, Goshen, Middlebury and Wa-Nee school systems. Here, Lori meets with teachers to develop behavior and medical plans for students, ages 3 to 22 who have significant disabilities. Her job is to maximize each student’s independence so that they can grow to their full potential and meet their goals with dignity. Every decision is a “heavy” one because a person’s ability to thrive is at stake.

Once she leaves work, “I ride the trail as often as I can, which is usually about three days a week. It helps me clear my head, reflect on my day and just unload.” She usually
completes a 12-mile ride in the evening before it begins to get dark.

“I look forward to my rides. I’m able to reframe problems and turn them into opportunities. This reduces stress and lets me focus on other things at home,” Lori says.

That’s the beauty of cycling (or doing any exercise) in the fresh air: improved creative thinking and problem solving. After a long session on the trail, Lori, feels revitalized, more positive and less tense, which is always a good thing. And, it’s a bonus (beyond physical activity) that the Pumpkinvine can deliver for anyone.

Learning from three trail incidents

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In early August, a young male was observed riding back and forth on the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail between the State Road 13 and County Road 43 on a moped. Besides the illegality of riding a motorized vehicle on the trail, the person was also harassing other trail users. Those trail users called the police, and they arrested the person for riding a motorized vehicle on the trail.

Around the same time, two men set up a table at the County Road 37 parking lot to distribute religious materials to trail users, not understanding that it is illegal to sell or distribute literature in a public park. And I recently heard about a cyclist who was traveling at a high speed and ran into the side of a car crossing the trail at Sunrise Lane (where cars have the right of way) damaging the door of the car, and then somehow managed to speed away without taking responsibility for the damage he caused to the car–a thoughtless case of hitting and running.

These types of incidents are, fortunately, rare on the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail. In the 18 years since the first 1.75 miles of the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail opened in 2000, there have been very few illegal or anti-social activities reported. Indeed, the trail is one of the safest parks in the area. Most cyclists, walkers and runners are considerate of others and anti-social behavior is rare.

Yet, as these three incidents illustrate, there are a few people in our society who are inconsiderate of others (e.g., the speeding cyclist), unaware of trail rules (e.g., no solicitation or sales on trail property) or are acting illegally (e.g., riding a motorized vehicle on the trail). And even though park staff patrol the Pumpkinvine on a regular basis, it is important for all trail users to be alert to illegal or anti-social behavior.

What should you do if you see such activities on the Pumpkinvine?
1. First, do not attempt to be the police. It is not your job to enforce trail rules. If you observe illegal activity on the trail, you should call 911, report what you saw, and give them the time and location of the incident.
2. If you see someone breaking the posted park rules (like putting up a sign advertising a house for sale, handing out literature or riding over 15 mph or recklessly), report the incident to the appropriate managing agency with as much detail as possible. A list of agencies and their contact information is found on page 5 of this newsletter. It would help to take a photo of the incident as well.

Finally, the best way for us to keep the Pumpkinvine safe is to use it often and demonstrate good walking and cycling behavior. Cyclists should alert walkers to their presence with a bell (a legal requirement for cyclists in Indiana) and announcing that they are “passing on the left.” Walkers can be considerate by not walking three abreast, blocking the trail and turning down their music so they can hear a cyclist’s bell and their words, “passing on the left.” Together we can keep the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail a safe place to exercise and enjoy nature.

Work progresses on new Pumpkinvine section But final construction may be delayed until spring

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Work on closing the gap in the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail between County Road 33 and County Road 20 began at the end of July, and the construction company, Pulver Asphalt and Paving, Albion, Ind., were scheduled to finish the job by the end of October. However, Pulver has since pushed back the completion date because one of the subcontractors was not able to build the bridge over the south fork of Pine Creek as soon as expected.

“The bridge builders had other projects to work on and could not give the resources to building the bridge when they were needed,” said Bernie Cunningham, superintendent of Elkhart County Parks, the agency managing construction.

While it is possible the trail will be paved this fall, Cunningham thinks that it is more likely to happen in the spring. In the meantime, work will continue grooming the trail shoulders, installing fencing and vegetation screening, creating a small parking lot at County Road 33 and building an overpass connection two land parcels separated
by the trail.

“This extension of the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail will definitely be done by the time of the Pumpkinvine Bike Ride on June 15,” Cunningham said.