Program areas at The Pinnacle
Stewardship - We make sure our 2728.4 acres and 27 miles of trails are properly cared for. Expenses are property taxes, liability insurance, and trail and access road maintenance. Other stewardship activity includes invasive weed control and boundary markings. Total volunteer hours by Board Members and others total 2,456 hours, with a value $76,004. This value is based on the Value of Volunteer Hours provided by Independent Sector.org. This value is not part of the Statement of Revenue or Statement Functional Expenses on pages 9 and 10, respectively.
Education -- Local schools use the Pinnacle lean-to and trails for field trips and environmental study, and some students do community service projects such as helping to remove invasive species. We sponsor a naturalist who accompanies elementary school students from the Westminster Center School and Grafton Elementary School on some hikes on Pinnacle land to help with their environmental education. Board Members provide guided walks to points of interest, ie to the Champion Ash Tree, to Creature Rock, and to areas of blooming spring flowers.
Outdoor recreation -- Our main goal in this regard is to help people connect with nature, both through our trail network and from programs we offer. Many of the trails have kiosks and maps for users. Our programs include guided walks open to the community and an annual Accessibility Day for people who cannot walk to one of our summits. The guided walks help people learn more about the environment, as does a "Field Note" section in our newsletter. Expenses include trail maps, brochures, other kiosk material and trail maintenance. Volunteers worked 1118.5 hours on trail development and maintenance, for a value of $33,600.