The Massachusetts Trails Conference is hosted by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) in partnership with the Massachusetts Recreational Trails Advisory Board (MARTAB) with funding provided by the Recreational Trails Program. Keynote speaker David C. Toland is the first CEO of Thrive Allen County, a nonprofit coalition that works to improve quality of life and economic conditions in Allen County, Kansas. A seventh-generation Allen Countian, Toland oversees a coalition known regionally, statewide and nationally for its innovative approaches to improving healthcare access, healthy lifestyles and economic development in a small, rural Kansas county.
At the conference, there will be hands-on workshops on Trail Crossings in Wetlands: Bog Bridge at Barrett Park, Chainsaw Safety, Constructing Accessible Trails with Stabilized Stonedust, etc, as well as field trips in and around Leominster and Fitchburg, and a host of concurrent sessions such as Finding Your Way through Storytelling: The Thoreau Trail and Chinatown Trail, and A Tale of Two City Trails: The Springield Urban Bird Trail and Worcester’s East-West Trail. A complete list may be found at http://www.masstrailsconference.com/schedule.html Registration begins at $45 with some workshops priced at an additional fee. Register online at http://www.masstrailsconference.com/register.html Registration includes Friday, November 3 field trips, and Saturday, November 4 keynote address, sessions, breakfast, lunch, and networking social. The event takes place at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Leominster, Massachusetts.
