Volunteers with South Texas Off Road Mountain-bikers and Friends of McAllister Park showed up to maintain the trails near the Pump Track Saturday.
The volunteers separated into two groups to trim long grass on the blue and red trails near the Pump Track and pick-up trash by the detention dam’s drain.
The volunteer’s efforts are important for one reason. San Antonio Parks and Recreation Department doesn’t maintain the natural trails in the parks.
According to STORM’s about page, “STORM is responsible for natural surface trail maintenance and building in many of the San Antonio city parks and greenways.”
Volunteers trim grass and branches, build new trails, repair existing trails, and pick-up trash along the creeks the mountain bike trails follow. The volunteer’s efforts are important according to Jeff Jordan, STORM president.
“We wouldn’t exist without the volunteers. We’re an all-volunteer organization. The board, the trail volunteers, and the volunteers that help with races, kid’s rides, women’s group rides and regular Thursday night rides, they’re all volunteers. Without them we wouldn’t exist,” Jordan said.
The volunteers come out because they love the park, the trails, and taking care of nature is important to them.
Sonya Alcocer-Charles said she had several reasons for volunteering, “specifically volunteering to the park just to give some time back and attention to the park that I really love. This is my favorite park in San Antonio, and I live on the park and that’s not a coincidence it’s because you know we moved to be on McAllister Park. We use the trails for running, riding, just taking a walk. This is like our second home.”
“I think that just a guiding principle in life is to be of service to others and you know you also have to pick where you want that service to be and I think taking care of our natural spaces is really important to ensure that they are maintained for other park users and for future generations,” she added.
San Antonio residents can get involved in improving their park and bike riding experience by volunteering to help.
Jordan said, “If you’d like to help support STORM you can join, go to our webpage at stormmbt.org and you can join or donate. Besides volunteers, donations, and memberships, and grants we receive from REI and Shimano and other organizations and companies is what helps us do the work that we do.”
Get involved in your community, help your park, and improve the experience for you fellow San Antonians.