IMPACT Norwood teaming up with Trails

On Monday morning, Norwood Trails Advisory Committee (NTAC) Chair Chris Paddock heard from IMPACT Norwood Program Director Conor Brosnan.

“Chris was the guy, and I texted him at 7:30 a.m. that morning like, ‘Hey are we still doing this?’” Brosnan said. “He replied, ‘I am.’”

Both organizations recently teamed up for a series of hikes at 10 a.m. on the four Mondays in August, each at a different trail in Norwood. The hikes were aimed at getting Norwood youth out of the house and off their screens. But if you don’t remember, Monday had an inch or two or rain come down most of the day.

Brosnan, the program director of IMPACT Norwood, an organization dedicated to ending substance use among the youth of Norwood, gave in to peer pressure and joined Paddock on the trail.

And it was a good thing too.

“So I went out there and we actually had three students show up, and I was shocked,” he said. “We had 22 sign ups for that day, and three still showed up, given the weather.”

Brosnan said once you’re out there, it wasn’t actually that bad.

“We had fun! You know it was neat to see the Neponset River back there, and Chris said he was there a week ago and it was two feet lower,” he said. “It was really fun. I mean once you’re in the woods the canopy provides some protection and we didn’t get completely soaked. Still, pretty wet.”

Brosnan said the hikes are the result of working with Paddock, NTAC members Joseph Greeley and Lee Leach around the Norwood Farmers Market. He said the two groups work really well together and have a lot of overlap.

“Chris and I believe there is a natural connection there,” he said. “We’re looking to get kids outside, socializing and trying to give them other things to do instead of sitting inside all day. And also we’re trying to provide some opportunities to meet some other youth in Town, meet new friends and expand their social circles a bit. And on the other hand, the NTAC has done a tremendous job creating this trail system in Norwood that I think still goes somewhat unknown to a lot of people, especially our youth. So I think this provides a good opportunity to give a sort of guided tour to our youth and say, ‘Hey we have these really cool outdoor spaces where you can bring your friends and go for a hike, bring your lunch, explore, check out the wildlife, etc.’”

The next Monday guided walk is the Meadow Street Trail on Aug. 10 at 10 a.m., followed by the Vanderbilt Trail on Aug. 17, and the Meadow Street Trail on Aug. 24.

Brosnan said the guided walks are a way to introduce the trails to the youth and then, the hope is at least, they’ll go out on their own to explore Norwood’s wooded areas. And he said working with the NTAC has been a dream, as they’re always open to collaborate.

Brosnan said they have also joined up with the Trails for the Germany Brook Trail Art project. Basically, there are a bunch of concrete blocks throughout the one-mile trail covering over manholes that might otherwise be easily and illegally accessed.

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So now, instead of blank concrete blocks, Brosnan said volunteers from IMPACT, the Trails and any interested residents are working to make them a little more vibrant.

“We noticed a while ago it was a good opportunity to provide public art, and we try to keep it focused on positive messaging,” he said. “A couple of people went out there in the spring and primed the blocks and we’ve been putting it out there to people that they can come out and decorate a block. We currently have six of them done. We have two more groups – one family and a group of kids – who will do them in the next couple of weeks. The goal is to have them all done by the end of the summer.”

Brosnan said several IMPACT Youth Ambassadors went out and did a block for 988, the behavioral crisis line, and it already had a great, um, impact.

Apparently, a woman walking her dog saw the block, which read ‘In crisis? Dial 988!’ and she said such crises are too common. Brosnan said she has encountered two people there while walking her dog in crisis just on the trail itself.

“She said she had to call 911 for help because there have been people back there who seemed like they were having some sort of mental health crisis,” he said. “It kind of worked out.”

For more information on upcoming IMPACT Norwood events, go to https://gvimes.link/impctnrwd