Join
Donate
Acadia National Park
Hiking Soil to the Summits
October 29th, 2024
More than 200 people – and a handful of dogs – participated in this season’s Save Our Summits (SOS) hikes, which ran weekly from June through September. The hikes invited volunteers to carry bags of soil in their backpacks (as much or as little as each felt comfortable carrying) and deposit the soil on the summits of Sargent and Penobscot Mountains.
That soil is integral to the ongoing summit restoration efforts in Acadia National Park.
Members of the Acadia Youth Conservation Corps and Student Conservation Association hike to the soil pick-up point at Around Mountain Carriage Road in Acadia National Park. (Evie Linantud/Friends of Acadia)
The hikes were led by Claire Burnet, Climate Community Volunteer Ambassador at Acadia National Park, with help from seasonal employees at Friends of Acadia, Schoodic Institute, and Acadia National Park. By mid-September, volunteers had carried 4,338 pounds of soil to the summits.
Near the end of the season, Burnet also led Bark Ranger SOS hikes that welcomed volunteers to bring their dogs, too. Four dogs joined their owners for the trek (one even carried some soil).
“It was such a joy to lead Save Our Summits hikes this summer,” said Burnet. “I wasn’t sure if we would be able to meet our goals, but we were met with an outpouring of support and enthusiasm.
Volunteers from all over the country hiked up soil, from 6 to 80 years old. If you joined a hike this summer, thank you!”
Members of the Student Conservation Association hike soil to Sargent Mountain’s summit, to help with soil restoration efforts. (Evie Linantud/Friends of Acadia)
Community Volunteer Ambassador Claire Burnet and Acadia National Park’s Dianna Sproul weigh soil as they prepare to hike soil to Sargent Mountain’s summit. (Evie Linantud/Friends of Acadia)
SOS volunteers pose for a photo on the summit of Sargent Mountain. (Evie Linantud/Friends of Acadia)
Volunteers hike with soil in their bags during a soil restoration hike up Sargent Mountain. (Evie Linantud/Friends of Acadia)
Volunteers Tawnia Pacheco and Tamira Montorsi pose for a photo before a soil restoration hike up Sargent Mountain.(Evie Linantud/Friends of Acadia)
The Wabanaki Youth in Science group hikes soil up to the Sargent Mountain summit. The Wabanaki Youth in Science group carried 166 pounds of soil to the summit to help soil restoration efforts. (Evie Linantud/Friends of Acadia)
Logan Dana, Acadia National Park vegetation program manager Jesse Wheeler, Luis Mendoza, and Damon Galipeau unload bags of soil at a soil restoration site on the Sargent Mountain summit. (Evie Linantud/Friends of Acadia)
Luis Mendoza of the Wabanaki Youth in Science program unloads a bag of soil. (Evie Linantud/Friends of Acadia)
Hikers and their dogs pose for a photo after participating in a Save Our Summits soil restoration hike to Sargent Mountain in Acadia National Park. (Evie Linantud/Friends of Acadia)
Restoring Acadia’s Iconic Summits
Friends of Acadia is supporting the park’s work to keep the sub-alpine vegetation of Acadia’s summits healthy, diverse, and adaptable.
Learn More
