The Bonney Woods Corporation has been awarded a 2022 Recreational Trail Program grant, in the amount of $43,272, by the Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands.

The grant will allow for updates to three trails. The corporation plans to improve the entrance and trail to Bonney Woods from Orchard Street, rehabilitate and smooth out the trail from the Flint Woods parking lot to the pond, and address the wet areas along Pole Line trail to create a formal connection from the Powder House Hill Trails to the trails in Clifford Woods.

The grant will allow the corporation to hire an experienced trail builder, Caribou Recreation Development, to plan and lead the work, according to a news release from Sandy Richard, corporation president.

The Bonney Woods Corporation is Maine’s oldest nonprofit. It owns and manages the Powder House Hill Trails, linking Bonney, Flint, Village, Horn and Willow Springs Woods. The corporation is an all-volunteer organization: it has no paid staff and is neither affiliated with nor funded by the town of Farmington or any other organization.

A critical part of the RTP grant program is the requirement of 20 percent matching funds. The corporation needs to raise $9,955 through financial donations or in-kind labor. For more information, visit powderhousehill.org.

The Powder House Hill Trails are free to use, but someone has to maintain every trail. The corporation is in need of material donations (like culverts, crushed rock, and other similar materials) and volunteers to help the professional trail builders complete the work.

Email specific questions to tsrichard@gwi.net or find links to volunteer opportunities and the opportunity to follow the trail improvements at powderhousehill.org, or follow them on Facebook (@BonneyWoods) or Instagram (@powderhousehilltrails).

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