Each Thursday in April, the Green Patch will highlight a way that you can get involved with environmental efforts in Mahwah.

If you want to enjoy the nature around us while learning how to preserve it, check out some of the upcoming events being offered by the NY-NJ Trail Conference.

The Conference, which recently held a ground-breaking ceremony to begin renovations on its future home, the old Darlington Schoolhouse in Mahwah, “recruits volunteers to create, protect, and promote more than 1,700 miles of public trails,” according to its website.

The site can be a great resource for people looking to get involved locally.

The organization offers workshops for all levels of environmental volunteers, from the newest to the most experienced.

For the novices, the next “Trail Maintenance 101” class being offered by the conference is happening from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. Saturday, May 14 in Yorktown Heights, NY.

According to the Conference, “This part day training session covers the skills necessary to maintain a hiking trail so it is easily passable and harmonious with its surroundings. Students will learn assessment of trail conditions, clearing, blazing proper use of tools and how to report any trail problems.”

“Students will spend the morning in a classroom environment and then head out into woods for hands-on instruction.”

Interested trailblazers can learn more information or sign up to attend the class online.

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The next event in Mahwah, happening May 22, is for those interested in establishing a long-range relationship with the conference. The “Intro to Invasive Plant Identification” workshop is a beginner course that can lead to membership of the group’s Invasive Strike Force. The ISF collects data about invasive plants on NY and NJ trails.

According to the Conference, “this workshop will teach you the basics of plant identification, and you will learn to identify 14 common invasive plants. It will also prepare you to be a volunteer in the Trail Conference’s Invasives Strike Force (ISF). An outdoor session will allow you to practice plant identification and data collection.”

Get more information, or sign up, here.

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Experienced trail members can look forward to the “Trail Construction And Restoration” workshop on May 7.

According to the Conference’s website, the amount of work accomplished here will depend on the number of volunteers who sign up.

“This will be a stone waterbar and check dam workshop. We will build a large channel for a stream that crosses the trail and it will be stone lined. We have about a half dozen trail fixtures to build. If we have time and enough volunteers we will build a few timber check dams.”

Get more information about this opportunity here.

An entire itinerary of all of the groups volunteer opportunities can be found on its website.