An important opportunity for trail professionals to build skills, discover the best tools and techniques available in the industry, and network is the Professional TrailBuilders Association Sustainable Trails Conference to be held in Knoxville March 5-11, 2016.
On choosing Knoxville as the location for the annual conference, Michael Passo, Executive Director of the Professional TrailBuilders Association (PTBA), said, “This amazing city is quickly becoming a trail mecca for hikers and mountain bikers alike. The amazing public/private partnership that helped create the Urban Wilderness is unlike any we have found in other great trail cities.”
The conference includes experiential education opportunities, workshops, a trade show, and sessions on designing, building, and maintaining trails in varied environments around the country. Past participants have included representatives from federal, state, and local agencies, conservation corps crews, landscape architects, park managers, and trail designers and consultants.
“One of Legacy Parks’ goals this year is to focus on trails – both expanding those in the Urban Wilderness, and building new trails in other areas of the county,” said Carol Evans, Executive Director of Legacy Parks Foundation. “We know the importance of professionally built trails, not only for sustainability, but also for the safety and enjoyment of the users. All of our new trails on the Wood property have been professionally designed and built,” she said.
PTBA is also announcing a new partnership plan – their “Legacy Trail” program will leave a segment of sustainably and professionally built trail in the city hosting the Sustainable Trails Conference. Knoxville’s Legacy Trail will connect South Doyle Middle School to an adjacent neighborhood and the Urban Wilderness.
Conference registration may be made on the PTBA website trailbuilders.org.
