Work Party 10-24-09

BOARD BY BOARD
... the boardwalk comes together...

The most recent Saturday work party — and probably the last for '09 — finished a significant length of boardwalk. Everything laid in place since June, when we had the first trailer transport of sections into the park, is now connected with toe rails.

Picture at right shows the completed section from the gathering platform looking south.

The photo above shows the start of the boardwalk from the southern end looking north toward the gathering area. Sections piled to the side are ready for work to start again next spring.

Elevating the toe rails with spacers allowed us to keep the walkway as wide as possible and maintain the height of the side rails needed to meet federal regulations for handicapped accessibility.

Attaching toe rails required multiple hands, feet and sometimes C-clamps to hold the boards tight for screwing into place.

Fun with tools!

Thanks to all the volunteers who helped make this season so successful!

Please use the email link at the top of the page
if you would like to be added to the mailing list of volunteers.

We completed the first length of boardwalk during a sunny Saturday work party, Oct. 17. A group of 10 volunteers worked with saws, drills and creative thinking to attach toe rails along a curving path from the first gathering area to the stream crossing (picture on left).

We thought this might be the last work session for the season, but the unusually warm fall leads to optimistic hope of yet another work party next weekend.

If you're interested in helping in this Bowman Elementary / Tanglewood Park project, please email using the link at the bottom of the page.

Attaching toe rails to the boardwalk sections requires on-the-go sawing to make the fit.

We spotted field miters galore during this work session. Wetland creatures or angle cut wizardy? You decide!

October 3, 2009

Here are pictures from our Oct. 3rd work party on the boardwalk. A crew of 17 — adults and kids — worked all morning joining sections, leveling and attaching toe rails. Rain threatened in the morning, but held off and we enjoyed a lovely crisp fall day.

Boardwalk work party 9-19-09

Thanks to the great volunteer crew who came out Saturday morning, Sept. 19, and put in four hours of work. In total, 12 adults and four students were involved in this work party, including those who made and served a delicious homemade lunch. Here are a few of those volunteers in an after-lunch photo.

Now we have one segment totally completed – leveled AND with toe rails — plus the first gathering place all put together in place, and another section in place and ready to tie together. This was terrific progress. Here are some photos from our work party.

A section headed north at the start of the morning.

The same section, below, at the end of the morning. You can see 2 segments finished with toe rails, off the first gathering area.

Volunteers in the photos below at work in all sorts of ways: placing sections, measuring, leveling, sawing, screwing planks to join sections, discussing the next moves.

9-12-09 work party

Volunteers at the first work session in September connected sections between the north stream crossing and the first gathering area. A second stream crossing was also installed during this session.



































A total of 11 adults and four students participated in more than three hours of work with a wonderful lunch afterward, prepared and served by a Bowman family.

June 2009 Trailer Transport

MOVING DAY, June 29

Throughout fall 2008 and early spring 2009, volunteers built several dozen 12-15 foot sections in the parking lot behind the school. This flat area allowed us to use the template built by Peter Howlett, Bowman parent and owner of Alaska Control Excavating.

Then came summer and the question: how in the world would we get those sections down the hill, around the lake and into the bog to the boardwalk site. The narrow path from the school to the park would not support truck traffic. The sections, at about 300 pounds each, were too heavy for volunteers to carry that far.

But then we found Tag-Along-Trailers, a company owned by former Bowman parent Dave Owmby who makes specialty trailers designed f0r off-road hauling. Dave's trailer, hooked to a four-wheeler expertly driven by Bowman parent Pat Whalen, along with a willing crew of mighty lifters, enabled us to move enough boardwalk sections into the park to accomplish what you see in the later October posts.


Loading the trailer

Unloading the trailer

Moving sections into place