Community Activities - Buenaventura Trail Benches

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In the Spring of 2009,  the Rotary Club of Redding West undertook improvements to a 0.7-mile section  of the Buenaventura Trail, a very popular connection between the Sacramento River Trail and Highway 299 in West Redding.
 
The Buenaventura  Trail Benches Project consists of three components:
1) planning and  constructing two architecturally designed and site-compatible natural stone  benches, 2) developing a spur trail to provide an opportunity to rest and  enjoy views of the Sacramento River, the distant mountains, and a once hidden waterfall on Gold Run Creek, and 3) adopting the Trail for ongoing  maintenance.

The benches were professionally designed and  engineered by club members who donated their time and skill. They were  constructed over the course of two months by teams of more than 30 Redding  West Rotarians, 30 volunteers from the California Conservation Corps (CCC),  and others, plus the paid services of a masonry contractor.
 
Club  members were in charge of the project from site selection to design review;  from physical labor to specifying dimensions and style of the commemorative  bronze plaques; from excavating rock and dirt to forming and pouring footings;  from hauling block, cement, road base, and rock in ATV’s to removing  manzanita; from dumping trailers full of rock for trail repair to renting and  borrowing equipment, purchasing supplies and materials. Club members also  obtained and negotiated the mason’s bid for the block and stone installation,  coordinated labor for excavation and backfill, participated in pruning and  removal of brush as well as general trail maintenance, and fed all the  volunteers on each workday.

Two cooperating organizations were  involved.  The City of Redding, owner of the land, approved the project,  awarded a grant to the Club, coordinated the work of the CCCs, and provided  some equipment and supplies as well as trail construction safety signage.   Volunteers from the
CCC worked for approximately 260 hours and also  contributed the use of equipment such as tools, wheelbarrows, shovels, picks,  and chainsaws to supplement the Rotarians’ tools and equipment. 
 
Funding for the project came from Redding West Rotary, a  District 5160 Simplified Grant, and the City of Redding. Volunteer labor was  provided by members of Redding West Rotary and their families, the California  Conservation Corps, the Foothill High School Interact Club, and  others.

 
Redding West Rotary hosted the Buenaventura Trail Benches  Dedication Ceremony at the Trailhead on Tuesday, May 19. Mayor Rick Bosetti  provided the keynote address. City representatives, members of the California  Conservation Corps and Foothill High School Interact Club, bikers, trail  walkers, and people from the neighborhood were there.  Trader Joe’s  provided light refreshments.  After the brief program, people walked  about .4 mile down the trail to the benches in the lovely evening  light.