Garrett Neese/Daily Mining Gazette T.J. Stauffer, pastor at Glad Tidings Church, points out the site of a future outdoor classroom along a trail network between the church and Barkell Elementary School.

HANCOCK — Volunteers spent Saturday morning helping to get a new trail system in Hancock ready for the community.

The trail, nearly three-quarters of a mile long, runs from Glad Tidings Church property to the Barkell Elementary School, without crossing any streets.

The connection had already existed in a basic form along the path of an emergency dike emergency flood dike put in place around 40 years ago. Children from Barkell use it for physical education classes during the school year, and snowshoe on it in the winter, said T.J. Stauffer, pastor at Glad Tidings Church.

“So we’ve been saying, ‘I wonder if with a little bit of investment, we could develop this into a much more extensive trail system,'” Stauffer said.

This year, the church received a grant from the Keweenaw Community Foundation to hire a contractor to clear a path through wooded areas of the property. With that accomplished, people can get into the trail for more hands-on cleaning. The day also saw heavy equipment work in some drainage zone and gravel areas.

Ultimately, the trail will be able to be used for biking, hiking, snowshoeing and other non-motorized activity.

“What’s so amazing about this is no one knew any of this was really here, because it was so thick and overgrown … so what we’ve done is we’ve really opened up the property that was underused to become open and accessible,” Stauffer said. “And now people are discovering the beauty, the nature, the uniqueness that was really in the backyard of the church and the elementary school. So we’re excited to just have this opened up so we can start developing it.”

Garrett Neese/Daily Mining Gazette
David Subert and Bester Mangisoni were among the approximately 20 volunteers working on the trail Saturday.

The church will be partnering with other local groups to help develop the habitat, Stauffer said. Hancock students will plant native species; biology and earth sciences classes will also incorporate the trail into their lessons.

Stauffer is hoping to develop a spot overlooking the Barkell playground into an outdoor classroom.

“We have a nice canopy of white pine, red pine,” he said. “We’re not going to clear it out, but we’re going to take out the small trees and we’re going to trim all the branches, and then we’re going to have seating in this zone so teachers can do a full outdoor class right here.”

The trail will be open to the community, Stauffer said. With UP Health – Portage hospital about 200 yards away, Stauffer sees it being an accessible spot to get in a walk during a break or a lunch hour.

“For elementary-age children, or people with dogs to have this space right in the heart of the community, with residential, hospitals, schools, having access to it, just makes it really nice,” he said.

About 20 people helped out with Saturday’s trail work, getting stumps and sticks from the trail so it can be mowed before next year’s opening, operating heavy equipment or making signs inside the church. In some parts of the trail, they also added dirt to smooth out the slopes of steeper sections.

“We love church, and it’s one of those things you want to do,” said Glad Tidings member James Akinola, who was digging out rocks from the trail with Micah Idowy and Becca Subert.

Akinola said the work had been “easy” and “fun.”

“Because this one’s doing most of the work,” he said, pointing at Subert.

Arens Superior Paving donated the use of its dump truck, while Wuebben Construction donated mine rock.

The church is also looking for a donor for wood chips, Stauffer said.

In spring, the church will put up signposts directing the path of the trail, which is tentatively named the Copper Hill Community Trail. The church plans to hold an official trail opening day in the spring.