Help Build and Maintain the Waterfront Trail
There are a number of ways you can help us build and maintain the Cayuga Waterfront Trail. Two of the best ways to help are to assist in maintaining the Cass Park Trail and to get involved in the fundraising and promotional effort for Phase 2 and future phases.

Trail Maintenance
Our goal is for the trail to be one of Ithaca's great and memorable places. We want the trail to be on the short list of places you visit on a regular basis or take visitors to see, places like our gorges and waterfalls, the Farmers Market, our educational institutions and the Finger Lakes Wineries. This means not just building a nice facility, but maintaining it and constantly improving it.

The Cass Park Trail is maintained jointly by the City's Ithaca Youth Bureau staff and by volunteers. The City is responsible for mowing the park and trail corridor and for plowing the trail surface during the winter season. In addition, City crews help out with mulch deliveries, tree plantings, bench installation and other activities that require heavy equipment and special skills.

Many important trail maintenance activities are done by individual volunteers, summer interns and work study students, Cub Scouts, and other groups. These tasks include litter control, weeding and maintaining special places along the trail, blowing the trail surface to keep it free from debris, edging the trail to keep grass from encroaching, managing vegetation along the water edge to preserve views and vistas, etc.

We have some incredible volunteers that spend many hours per week taking care of the trail. Coach Joe Morrissette an 80 year old trail lover who visits the trail every day to keep the trailhead weedfree and clean, and blows the trail surface free of debris as needed so that it is smooth for inline skaters and other users. We cannot say thank you enough for his incredible commitment to the trail. Charles and Dorothy Denman live closeby to the trail, on Cliff Street, and walk the trail early every morning. While on their walk they pick up litter along the trail. A litter-free trail helps make this trail a special place. Thanks to Coach and to the Denmans.

We would like to thank the following organizations that provide volunteers on a regular basis and continue to help us maintain the trail:

• On Site Volunteers Services (OSVS) - OSVS provides groups of 5 - 10 students on a regular basis for trail projects such as mulching planting beds, spreading topsoil and seeding along the trail edge, and other tasks that require alot of people power.
• Cub Scout Troop 4 - The Cub Scouts and their leaders and parents visit us once a year in May to clean the edge on the Cayuga along the northern section of the trail, one of the nicest parts of the trail.
• Cornell Public Service Center (POST and Into the Streets) - In August and October, students are provided for many trail maintenance tasks.
• Cayuga Addiction and Recovery Services - periodically a crew of volunteers comes to the Cass Park Trail on Friday afternoon to assist

Fundraising and Promotion

A key component in developing the trail is raising construction funds. The CWTI fundraising committee meets on a regular basis to plan for trail fundraising activities and promotion. Volunteers can join this planning process, and/or join the effort to let people know about the trail, sell Stepping Stones and find sponsors for trail furnishings. Volunteers staff information tables and hand out brochures at the Farmers Market and at special events. If you would like to be involved in this area, please contact Rick Manning (rmannin4@twcny.rr.com). And please help us get the word out. Let your friends know about the trail, invite them for a walk on the trail, give them a Stepping Stone brochure and/or this website address, and encourage them to support the trail. If you would like to arrange for a presentation on the Cayuga Waterfront Trail for your organization (another wonderful way to get the word out about the Trail), please contact Rick. If you need brochures, displays or other trail information please let us know.

80 year old Joe "Coach" Morrissette spends each morning cleaning and edging the trail in Cass Park while in-line skating. Thanks Coach!