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Virgin Island Trail Alliance (2021) Print
2021 AARP Community Challenge Grantee
Project Category
Transportation
└ Trails
└ Trails
Many trails on St. Croix were impassable after hurricane damage. As part of disaster recovery efforts, Virgin Islands Trail Alliance restored eight miles of rainforest trails. To do this, volunteers cut through foliage, cleared weeds, pulled up roots and raked up debris, allowing the trails to reopen. Additionally, they installed new signage, which help visitors navigate, communicate trail rules and identify tree species. The activation effort also involved installing picnic tables and benches along the path to give people a space to rest. To help visitors access the trails, volunteers cleared parking areas and installed bollards to prevent people from driving vehicles onto the trails. Volunteer workers included participants in a nonprofit program carpentry skills program. Since the restoration, project organizers say hikers and cyclists have returned to the trails.
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See More Projects Like This One
Boligee, AL
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022
Project Category: Trails
Description: The rural town of Boligee lacked parks, walking trails and sidewalks. Recently, the Town purchased the former junior high school property and repurposed it into a recreation complex, which hosts classes and community events. To give residents an outdoor gathering space, this project created a new trail and garden onsite. Volunteers cleared a path for the trail and installed brick pavers. They also added raised flowerbeds and benches to give visitors a place to rest and socialize. Additionally, organizers installed a roof over an unused concrete slab, transforming it into a pavilion. The Town now invites older adults to tend to the flowerbeds. Organizers say they hope the trail and garden foster improved community health.
Valdez, AK
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022
Project Category: Trails
Description: Most trails in Valdez aren't accessible to people using walkers or wheelchairs, as well as parents or grandparents pushing strollers. Organizers with Valdez Adventure Alliance hoped to make the Shoup Bay Trail more welcoming to people of all ages and abilities through improvements to its trailhead. Volunteers leveled the trailhead and added landscaping. They also installed benches to give visitors a place to rest. Since completing the improvements, organizers have continued to make accessibility upgrades along the trail itself and have rebuilt another 620 feet of pathway.
Belleville, NJ
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2022
Project Category: Trails
Description: Belleville turned an unused fenced lot into a pocket park to address the lack of green space in its dense neighborhoods, where many older adults lacked outdoor recreation. The project added a walking path, pollinator garden, rock garden and art display areas, with volunteers planting native species and painting rocks. A ribbon-cutting event invited residents to celebrate the new space, which now hosts health fairs and cultural activities. Participants were thrilled, with one saying that they can't wait to host events here, signaling how this transformation fosters connection and creativity.
Project description was created using generative AI and then reviewed for accuracy.
Nearby AARP Community Challenge Projects
Frederiksted, VI
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2026
Project Category: Community Gardens
Description: A hurricane‑damaged picnic pavilion will be rebuilt with resilient shade, accessible seating and raised planters. The upgraded space will offer a comfortable resting and social area for older visitors in a tropical climate.
Frederiksted, VI
AARP Community Challenge Grant Year: 2026
Project Category: Public space activation
Description: Two segments of an age‑friendly heritage walking loop will add shaded paths, crosswalks, distance markers and rest areas. The improvements will support safe mobility and social connection for adults age 50-plus.
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4094 Diamond Ruby
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Christensted (St. Croix), VI 00820
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