On Thursday, about 25 kids with the Kachemak Bay Adventure Club hauled recycled wood chips in sleds to patch up parts of the trail. The Homestead Trail is part of a multi-use system just outside Homer.
Siblings Charlotte and Harvey were among the group working to make the trail safer.
“Right now, we are filling up wood chips, putting them in sleds, and we're bringing them to spots that are really narrow and have walls up, so mud doesn't stay there,” Harvey said.
“Yeah, and no one will trip in the winter when it's all snowy, when they're skiing,” Charlotte added.
Kachemak Bay Adventure Club launched this summer as a day camp for kids ages five to twelve. The group explores outdoor spaces around Homer each week, including beaches, parks and trails. Organizers say the Homestead Trail became a regular stop this season, with room for free play, hikes and nature-based activities.
The club was founded by Molly Liston, who said the group wanted to give something back.
“We were trying to figure out how we could give back and help maintain the trails that we use every week. And so we had this random idea to meet once a week, and this is our second week,” Liston said.
According to the group’s website, Liston has over 20 years of experience in outdoor and childhood education. She recently moved back to Homer from Anchorage, where she spent part of her youth and worked as a kayak guide in Kachemak Bay.
Liston said the group partnered with the Homer Trails Alliance, a local nonprofit that coordinates volunteer trail maintenance. The club used wood chips collected by a utility company during roadside tree removals to fill in muddy patches and improve drainage.
Ole, one of the campers, said the work was about making the trail a better place.
“I had a feeling or a hunch that it might be nice to work on the trail and make it a better place so no people can trip on the roots,” he said.
Another camper, Ocean, said her favorite part of the summer camp was tide pooling.
“We get to go tide pooling, a bunch of anemones and octopus,” she said.
The Kachemak Bay Adventure Club runs through August 15. More information is available on their website.
