Talk to eighth graders

On Oct. 15, I spoke to two eighth-grade classes at Pierre Moran Middle School in Elkhart about the Friends of the Pumpkinvine. The classes were Business/Marketing and Youth Philanthropy. The teacher, Emily Davidson, has invited 10 area non-profit organizations to address the class to explain what their organization does and how they raise money. After hearing from the 10 non-profits, the class will decide which organization they would like to help with marketing and offer them their services.

I began each class by asking the students how many had heard of the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail and how many had ridden on it. It surprised me that out of 37 student, only five or six had heard of the Pumpkinvine and three or four had ridden on it.

Friends of the Pumpkinvine 2914 Photo Contest

The Friends of the Pumpkinvine are sponsoring a photo contest to highlight the beauty of the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail. Here are the contest rules:

1. Theme:  The colorful Pumpkinvine Nature Trail.
2. Entries must be submitted by sending them as attachments to Friends@pumpkinvine.org by December 31, 2014.
3. Each entrant may submit up to three images. Submission of more than three images will disqualify all entries. Indicating your name, and home address in the body of the e-mail. We will use this e-mail address to notify you if your photo is selected as one of the winning photographs.
4. Entries must be submitted by the original photographer. Do not submit a photo taken by someone else. You must be the sole owner of the copyright of any image submitted. Your submission of the photo is your guarantee that you are the author and copyright holder of the photo.
5. No photographer identification may appear on the image.
6. All submissions must be made from images taken on the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail in 2014. The trail must be recognizable in the photo. Photos of small objects like individual flowers, for example, will not be eligible. 
7. If people in the photograph are recognizable, you must provide name and phone number or email for each one.
8. Photos must be taken with a camera with ample megapixels and resolution for printing. No phone photos accepted.    
9. Prizes: 1st - $100; 2nd -$75; 3rd - $50; 4th. $25  
10. Judging will be by the Goshen Photographer’s Guild.
11. The winning photographers will be notified next January. Their photos will be published in the March issue of Pumpkinvine Trail Talk, may be displayed at the next year's Friends of the Pumpkinvine brochure, Pumpkinvine Bike Ride brochure and at other appropriate locations, including the Friends of the Pumpkinvine website www.pumpkinvine.org, and blog http://fopvnt.blogspot.com/ . 
12. By entering the Contest, all entrants grant an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive license to the Friends of the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail, Inc., to reproduce, distribute, display and create derivative works of the entries in any media now or hereafter known.

Pumpkinvine Advisory Committee

Once a month, representatives from Goshen Park and Recreation, Middlebury, Shipshewana, Elkhart County Parks and the Friends of the Pumpkinvine meet to discuss issues related to the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail. The group is called the Pumpkinvine Advisory Committee (PAC), and its purpose is to foster cooperation and consistent policies among the four government agencies that manage the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail. With so much cynicism around about government, it's refreshing to  participate in meetings where government officials listen, make good decisions, and in general are responsible public servants.

The group makes decisions by consensus and most of those decisions don't require approval from the boards or councils the PAC members work for. An example of a PAC decision is the agreement to color code the mile markers -- Goshen, blue; Elkhart County Parks, brown; Middlebury, green; and Shipshewana, black -- so that users would know who is managing the section they are in.

If PAC creates a policy that would have legal implications, the agency representatives seek approval from their boards or councils. In other words, PAC does not function at this point as an official inter-governmental agency that makes policy on it's own. Although members have discussed drawing up an inter-governmental agreement, they don't think its necessary at this time.

The issues the PAC members discuss in a typical meeting include updates on trail construction projects (if any), problems encountered on the trail, like lines painted on the trail surface or rough pavement that needs fixing. A major topic concerns events that various groups are planning for the trail. Last year PAC agreed on an application process for groups using the trail to raise money in an effort to be prepared for the groups and avoid conflicts if two groups wanted events on the same day. They want groups to have a good experience, and knowing ahead of time where the group plans to walk or run allows the managing agencies for those sections to be sure that the trail is cleaned off and any needed repairs are done.

Another PAC initiative was the policy on what powered vehicles people with disabilities could use on the trail. The group hammered out the wording and then each managing agency had its board or council approve the measure. The Friends of the Pumpkinvine agreed to pay for the flags that would be attached to the vehicles to identify them as approved trail vehicles.

The Friends of the Pumpkinvine also assist the group by providing the trail map, managing the Pumpkinvine website (www.punpkinvine.org), and answering emails from people who want information about the Pumpkinvine. One person asked what sections of the Pumpkinvine were shaded because they had a skin condition and couldn't be in the sun very long. Others ask where they can park, what's the longest paved section or if there are bikes to rent. 

Facebook feedback

On August 4, I posted this question on our Friends of the Pumpkinvine Facebook page:  “What improvements would you like to see to the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail?”  By Aug. 28, there were 28 comments. Here’s a summary. Note that in many cases a comment mentioned several ideas, so when someone “liked” that comment, it isn’t clear which idea they are referring to. In other words, the “Liked” column isn’t very accurate.

Suggestions	Times mentioned	Liked
Completion of the trail between CR 33 & CR 35	6	27
Pave limestone section from SR 4 to County Road 28	5	16
More drinking fountains	5	23
Half-miles and mile markers on all the trail	4	21
Additional toilets	3	17
Fix the holes east of County Road 127	1
Install tire pumps at parking lots	1
Extend the trail to North Park in Shipshewana	1	1
Cut back trees at county-road crossings	1	7
More signs with trail rules	1	6
Complete the trail into Shipshewana	1	5
Bridges over busy county roads	1
Additional parking	1	10
Better signage in Goshen to locate the Maple City Greenway	1	2
Build a spur to Bonneville Mill Park	1
A snow blower for Elkhart County Parks	1
Lights on the trail	1	3
Extend the Pumpkinvine to Elkhart, Wakarusa and Nappanee	1	6
Better signs between County Road 35 and County Road 33	1	7
Make the Abshire Trail a boardwalk

Wildflowers along the Pumpkinvine

The wildflowers that Bob Carrico and Chuck Thompson planted east of CR 43, between CR 1150W and 1100W and between CR 127 and CR 26  are spectacular now, two years after the planting.

East of CR 43

Between CR 127 and CR 26

West of CR 1150 in LaGrange County

Amazon Smile

When you begin your Amazon.com shopping at Amazon Smile, a portion of your purchase price will go toward the support of the Friends of the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail. Click the link Amazon Smile to get started.

July 4, 2014

It was an absolutely gorgeous day to ride on the trail -- low humidity and temperature in the low 70s. We saw more English than Amish riders today.