Friends of Acadia’s Summit Steward program was recently featured on Fox 22. Watch the story on the Fox 22 website: Friends of Acadia ‘Summit Steward’ program

Summit Stewards spend thousands of hours on the area’s trails and mountaintops every summer, conducting basic trail maintenance and answering visitor questions, the story notes.

“They work in the park, but with a focus of how people can be better stewards of the park when they’re recreating,” said Stephanie Ley, Summit Steward Coordinator for Friends of Acadia.

Steph Ley, Summit Steward Coordinator, speaks about the value of the program during a segment on Fox 22.

To better prepare them for that task, park employees train them on the current issues the park is facing.

“We’re trying to restore native vegetation and soils and areas that have been degraded over time,” said Jesse Wheeler, vegetation biologist at Acadia National Park. “We’re going to inform them about what we’re doing for monitoring, science and management – which will hopefully translate to educating the public.”

The summit steward program has been running since 1997, and Friends of Acadia employees say it’s a great starting point for those interested in environmental work.

“We view a lot of these positions as those stepping stones and career paths to public lands,” said Ley. “But also we’re doing so much education.”

Watch the story on the Fox 22 website: Friends of Acadia ‘Summit Steward’ program