Foundations of Sustainable Trails: A Trail from Start to Finish

​

About This Course

A Trail from Start to Finish course is an introductory, short “microlearning” targeted to developing trail workers. Anticipated to take about 15 minutes to complete, this microlearning discusses what it means for a trail to be sustainable and describes the lifecycle of sustainable trails and each of the stages of that cycle. 

This microlearning will introduce topics such as inclusive trails, common pitfalls in trail sustainability, lifecycle phases of a trail, and more—all through the lens of what it means for a trail to be sustainable. This microlearning was developed jointly by American Trails and the Eppley Institute for Parks and Public Lands at Indiana University. 

Course Schedule

• Interactive practice activities
• Supplemental reference materials

Micro-learning sections:​​

• Sustainable Trails
• Trails Step-By-Step

Course Objectives

Be able to:

• ​​​​Define "sustainable trails."
• D​​escribe the iterative phases of a trail project.
• ​Identify key resources to support the planning and implementation of a sustainable trails project.​

Recommended Background

There are no prerequisites for this microlearning. This microlearning is a recommended starting point for anyone interested in one of the “Foundations of Sustainable Trails” courses on Tread & Alignment, Structures, and Tools.