No. Brunswick family says 'Happy Trails' to New Jersey

Leanne Barnhard (l) and her mother, Patricia, take a rare break while helping clear a trail as part of the West Jersey Trail crew. NORTH BRUNSWICK — The Barnhards of North Brunswick are involved in a unique type of volunteer work: they are part of the West Jersey Trail Crew.

David, Patricia, Bradley (17) and Leanne (15) are responsible for maintaining 1.4 miles of trails at the Norvin Green State Forest lower white trail in Passaic County every other Saturday. They clean debris from storms, collect leaves that fall, cut back growth from hiking paths and build bridges or water bars as needed.

"Our family has always been a very outdoorsy family," Leanne said.

Patricia is an avid hiker and the entire family camps a lot, so when there a conference at Ramapo College in Mahwah three years ago, Patricia and Bradley decided to attend. They started working on the Bear Mountain portion of the Appalachian Trail, clearing trails and building steps.

"It was pretty interesting," Brad said.

Now, using shovels, pickaxes, chainsaws, rock bars, pitchforks and rakes, the Barnhards, along with a few dozen other people, work from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. every other week during the spring and fall. Leanne said it is hard, strenuous work and sometimes the volunteers have to hike a good distance to and from the site before and after working.

But the family seems to think it's worth it.

"It's giving back to society and the community," Brad said.

"Everyone enjoys being outside. Everyone enjoys going for hikes, so it's nice when they don't have to worry about all the garbage. It's nice to go for a hike and have a pretty view and not the view of someone's garbage. We also try to make it safe for children [by clearing] rocks and debris," Leanne said.

For more information, visit www.nynjtc. org.

Contact Jennifer Amato at

jamato@gmnews.com.