Nineteen volunteers, a lot of rocks, and why the Codington trail needed them

The work

The instruction is the interesting part, because it explains what the volunteers were actually accomplishing.

After safety reminders, the guidance focused on removing any rocks protruding more than a couple of inches above the trail surface. The reason is mechanical. Public Works uses mowing equipment to keep these trails clear of vegetation, and a protruding rock damages that equipment. Every rock a volunteer pulls out is a mower blade that survives the season.

That is a more useful framing than "trail cleanup." It is preventive maintenance on municipal equipment, done by residents with pry bars.

The volunteers brought their own tools. One overheard comment on the state of the trails afterward: "Ready for prime time."

Who showed up

The township named them, which is the right instinct, so this post does too.

Paul Monti, David Kaminski, Bill Gilbert, Shelley Molnar, Rachel Perlinski, Laura Keller, Levia Spingarn Gabel, Kristin Clapcich, Kathy Gilbert, Shilpa Desai, Nisita Padwal, Jerrold Zeitels, Merrill Main, Laura Herndon, Steve Bumgarner, David Gabel and Michael Wallace. Kristin Main and Susan Zeitels were also there and were not pictured.

Several of those names appear elsewhere in the township's open space record, including Bill Gilbert, who chairs the Open Space Committee, and Shilpa Desai, who serves as its secretary.

Why the township needs the volunteers

The staffing picture is on the public record and it is candid.

Recreation Director Joe Passaro told the Open Space Advisory Committee on April 9, 2026 that the Department of Public Works has 17 people, with only 3 assigned to trails, and 1 or 2 of those retiring soon. He also said trailhead improvements are needed before volunteers can maintain the trails at all.

Nineteen volunteers for one Saturday is more people than the township has on trails all year. That arithmetic is the entire argument for the program.

The committee behind it

The Open Space Committee was reconstituted as a standing committee in January 2026, under Chair Bill Gilbert. It set its 2026 focus on three priority properties: Dealaman, Coddington and Glenhurst.

At its March 11 meeting the committee reviewed a draft volunteer waiver and Adopt-a-Trail procedures, and noted that the Recreation and Open Space Inventory remains in draft. On April 9, Shilpa Desai was appointed committee secretary following Kevin Anderson's resignation.

The waiver and the Adopt-a-Trail procedures are the unglamorous prerequisites. A township cannot put residents to work with hand tools on public land without them.

The wellness walk series it belonged to

The August 1 trail day was also one of three August Warren Wellness Walks, announced July 31.

July walks ran July 10, July 14 and July 24, all at 9:15 a.m. at East County Park.

For the August 1 trail day, volunteers were told to wear long sleeves, long pants, a hat, gloves and sturdy closed toe shoes, to review the Warren Township Open Space page beforehand, and to sign up as volunteers rather than just turning up. Reasonable requirements for work involving rocks and hand tools in August.

If you want the September date

The next outing is Saturday September 19. Sign up through the township's Open Space Program page. Bring a pry bar if you have one.