2018 has been an exciting year for the Friends, with meaningful milestones as we continue our work to bring a Trail to Bourne. As 2018 comes to a close, we want to take a look back on this past year and thank our many supporters for helping to make 2018 such an incredible success!
January
The Friends kicked 2018 off with a visit from the Massachusetts Bicycle Coalition (MassBike) during their ‘perambulation’ across Cape Cod. It was great to meet with the MassBike team to share the vision for the Bourne Rail Trail as they explored future and potential trails across Cape Cod.
March
In March, the Friends hosted our first ever Movie Night, screening PBS’s Ten Parks that Changed America, an inspiring story of ten iconic parks from across the United States.
May
In May the Friends received a grant from the Woods Hole Foundation, allowing us to expand our work in support of the BRT and ultimately a Cape-wide trail network that will extend from Woods Hole through Bourne and Sandwich and all the way to Provincetown! We are very grateful for the support of the Woods Hole Foundation!
June
In June, the Friends, along with State Representative David Vieira, hosted a site visit of the BRT Corridor with representatives from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT). It was a very productive visit and we appreciate MassDOT staffers for participating in the visit.
In June, we welcomed our new summer interns, Tuck and Meagen, on board! Tuck was leading the way in our TrailFest efforts while Meagen was working closely with our volunteers and developing new outreach strategies for the Friends.
On Father’s Day, Board Members Nate and Alice took to the field and brought the Bourne Rail Trail to a Bourne Braves game! Alice sang the National Anthem while Nate threw out the first pitch!
July
The Friends participated in Phinney’s Harbor Day in Monument Beach! As always, we were energized by the support we heard from the community for the Trail.
August
On August 18th, over 200 people joined the Friends at the Aptucxet Trading Post in Bourne for the Friends’ first ever TrailFest! TrailFest exceeded all of our expectations and we were blown away by the support and excitement for the Bourne Rail Trail. Find the full TrailFest recap here and be sure to be on the lookout for our 2nd Annual TrailFest Save the Date in 2019!
September
In September, the Friends participated in the Upper Cape Chamber of Commerce’s Cape Cod Canal Day in Buzzards Bay Park. It was a great opportunity to meet new Friends and supporters of the Trail, while participating in a fabulous community event.
On September 30th, the Bourne Rail Trail Blazers joined hundreds of other riders for the Buzzards Bay Coalition’s 2018 Watershed Ride! With 30 riders strong raising over $22,000 for clean water in Buzzards Bay, the BRT Blazers were the largest and top fundraising team of the year. Thank you to all of the BRT Blazers and their supporters!
BRT volunteer and 2018 BRT Blazer, Marc Doucette, received a substantial donation during the recent Watershed Ride courtesy of Kia of Dartmouth. As a thank you, Marc graciously framed our BRT Blazer Jersey for Kia of Dartmouth, hand delivered with a thank you letter. The Friends are incredibly lucky to have passionate supporters such as Marc!
October
On October 1st, voters at the Town of Bourne’s Special Town Meeting approved $50,000 in Community Preservation funds to be used for design and engineering of Phase 1 of the Bourne Rail Trail! The funding marks a critical step in the development of the Trail.
December
The Friends hosted our Volunteer Appreciation night to thank the dozens of volunteers who have donated their time to make the BRT a reality. From volunteering at TrailFest to participating in the Trail Ambassador Program, our volunteers are a huge part of the progress that has been made in making the BRT a reality in 2018.
Thank you for a tremendously successful 2018, we look forward to continued progress in 2019!