Episode #22- Conservation Team East

This is part two of my conversation with the Access Fund–Jeep Conservation Teams. Today is Annie and Mat from the East Conservation Team. This dynamic duo is responsible for the crags and boulders throughout the Eastern United States. As a regional team, they spend extended amounts of time in one spot, completing major stewardship projects at popular areas such as Rumney and Cathedral Ledge, where they are currently working. Annie and Mat bring extensive experience from working on a conservation corps in North Carolina prior to joining Access Fund. They are now taking their passion for stewardship and their newly found love of climbing to care for our treasured climbing resources across the Eastern United States. Enjoy! 0:27 – The day’s field work 1:48 – Annie’s intro 3:10 – Conservation before climbing 4:04 – Mat’s intro 4:54 – Conservation corps into Access Fund’s Conservation Team 7:26 – Cathedral Ledge and this year’s work 9:18 – Restore Rumney campaign 10:23 – Stewardship in a wet climate 12:30 – Best trail-building material 15:07 – Stewarding crags vs. bouldering areas 19:30 – The stewardship process 24:14 – What to expect at a stewardship day 27:04 – Volunteer coordination amidst COVID 30:47 – Project completion 32:18 – The team’s climbing experience 35:18 – Conservation team in your area Climbing Area Stewardship- https://www.accessfund.org/learn/for-advocates/climbing-area-stewardship Restoring Climbing Areas- https://www.accessfund.org/our-causes/sustainable-climbing-areas Can Climbers Save the Economy- https://www.accessfund.org/open-gate-blog/a-bold-plan-can-climbers-help-save-the-economy Appalachian Mountain Club- https://www.outdoors.org/ White Mountain Trail Collective- https://wmtrailcollective.org/ Vehicles for Charity- https://www.vehiclesforcharity.org/ (866) 628-2277