About the trail

Established in 2000-2001, the trail has been a work in progress from the beginning and has been managed by several different educational leaders with an inspirational vision.  That vision and mission has stayed consistent through the last 20 years: to build the capacity of the educators at Middlesex Elementary and the surrounding area to engage students in environmental studies, as well as to build a community resource that all members of our area can access to learn more about the valuable ecosystems that make up our area.
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The length of the trail spans about 600 yards in total from the pavilion on-site, through the woods behind the school, past the outdoor classrooms, over several stream beds and bridges, and wraps its travelers back around behind the school to the fields. From there, one would use the gates to traverse the cement bridge and go between two sites currently being redeveloped for environmental education spaces. This leisurely walk takes about 15-20 minutes and is in the category of "easy" as a family-friendly public day-use hike.
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In 2006-2007, the local Boy Scouts of America troop worked to revitalize the trail with an Eagle Scout project involving the installation of the current bridge system as well as lining the trail with mulch.
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In 2014-2015, Mr. Pierce and Mr. Ewert enlisted the help of over 3 dozen community volunteers, including the Boy Scouts of America, students, parents, grandparents, siblings, and friends to line the trail with over 50 tons of stone and 15 cubic yards of mulch for the 900 sq. ft. outdoor classroom space. The donation of all stone and mulch by the Middlesex Township made this event possible. It was a spectacular event to witness!
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In the summer of 2015, the Middlesex PTO supported the project by purchasing 3 8-foot composite picnic tables and a resource bin for lesson materials to put in the outdoor classroom. The Appalachian Trail Conservancy also became a collaborative partner with the trail as Middlesex Environmental Trail became a site listed in the database for AT Seasons, a phenology monitoring website allowing data collection along the entire corridor of the Appalachian Trail for environmental analysis of trends and future decision making.

In addition to these partners, the trail also enjoys support for the Eagle Foundation.  Through the foundation's generosity numerous instructional tools and resources have been purchased to support the learning experience on the Environmental Trail.  The Eagle Foundation is a non-profit affiliated with the District which accepts donations for specific projects meeting the Foundation's mission of supporting educational activities.
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The Middlesex Environmental Service Learning Club was created in the Fall of 2015 to provide students an opportunity to use the trail and classroom space as a environmental education laboratory to study topics of interest and identify projects for future study.

In the years following our first major Community Clean Up event, we have hosted annual outings to shake off winter's trappings and prepare the Environmental Trail for the eager minds who are yearning to get outdoors!  These events would not be possible without the support of the community, and we would like to give special thanks to Mr. Mike Barlup who is a constant supporter of our Environmental Trail!