COLUMN: Trailing or Leading: MYPath was worthy of the study

I like to talk, a lot, about the way MYPath benefits our community. But what if an independent group studied our trail? What would they think?

As I have reported in this column previously, MYPath is part of a regional group, trying to connect trails across Owen and Monroe counties and beyond. When the Indiana University Center for Rural Engagement (IUCRE) offered services to rural communities, we decided to ask if they could help us understand our economic impact and strategies for expanding our trails. IUCRE found a class at the O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs who would take on our project as an intensive course.

I got to know their instructor, Dr. Trent Deckard, as he described the class and the students. These were graduate students in the Master of Public Affairs program. They were IU students, but they came from around the country and met online throughout the summer. However, for one week, Aug. 4 to 8, they would be on-site in Owen County and at IU to get a ground-level look at our community. I also want to point out that these were students who had been in the workforce for a while before digging into grad school. In that way, they were more like peers than students.

On their first day in town, we met at McCormick's Creek Canyon Inn. They interviewed four focus groups: trail users, community organizations, trail experts and property owners. Then we took them to Jit's for lunch, followed by a tour of the Tivoli. Then I led them on a tour of MYPath. The idea was to give them a feel for the community and the trail.

For the next few days, they would send me questions, and I would send them answers. I met them one evening in Bloomington, where we shared beer, and I answered more questions. On Thursday, I met them for lunch, to answer questions and react to their draft of what they wanted to talk about on Friday.

Friday was the big day. The class that had been meeting online for months, had just been meeting in-person and on-site for a week. Now, they were going to present the results of their work to us. Volunteers and community members were invited to hear what they had to say. Dr. Deckard remarked that he has been working on projects like this for many years, and our group of interested community members was the largest, by far, that he had ever witnessed.

The study was titled MYPath, Our Community: The Future of Trail Systems in Owen County, Indiana. They divided it into three sections: economic impact, trail expansion strategy and community engagement and awareness. It's hard to describe how on-target their report was.

It's a 107-page report. Here is a very brief summary: MYPath is providing a benefit to the community. The more we expand trails, the more benefit we get. To expand the trail, we should form a trail-expansion committee. To get more people involved with the trail, we should reach out to them. If you want to read the entire report, or serve on the trail expansion committee, email me at mypathspencer@gmail.com.

After lunch at the Canyon Inn, I gave them a MYPath T-shirt and led them on a brief hike to the McCormick's Creek falls, because that is what I do. I think the class enjoyed visiting our community, and I enjoyed getting to know them. Their report is going to help guide our trail to great places.