The Anchorage Schools on Trails group, along with project champion Glen Hemingson, was awarded $40,000 in matching funds by APF to rehabilitate the Westchester Lagoon Nature Trail. The Schools on Trails group operates under the Anchorage Economic Development Corporation’s Live.Work.Play. campaign’s Trails Initiative focus area. The group has a vision of “engaging Anchorage schools with their nearby trails, parks, streams and natural habitats so that students and staff in those schools learn about community assets in their neighborhoods, and these neighborhoods are enriched by this increased local awareness.”
This particular project of the Schools on Trails group includes signage at the entrance to the trail, interpretive signage, construction of an outdoor learning lab and a creek observation platform, public art installation, and rehabilitation of park benches. The group raised their match through a combination of cash donations, volunteer labor, and in-kind donations.
Funding for the reconstruction of the trail itself will be available in the spring through a TAP grant.
Student Design Competition for benches along the Westchester Lagoon Nature Trail.
