By Peter Murphy

Schimpf, assistant professor in the Department of Engineering Education, volunteers as a trail maintainer at Zoar Valley for the Finger Lakes Trail Conference (FLTC). He drives nearly 50 miles at least once per week from his home in Buffalo to the gorge, which spans Erie and Cattaraugus counties in New York.  

“This is a fun, side thing that you can maybe see the results of more clearly than doing research,” he said.

Schimpf has been—in his words—an outdoorsy person since his childhood growing up in the suburbs of Cleveland.

“Sure, it was suburbs, but if you went a little bit further, you were in the country,” Schimpf laughed. “Hiking was a hobby.” 

Schimpf’s work as a trail maintainer has grown throughout his time volunteering at Zoar Valley. At first, he visited the trail three times per year to examine trail signage and look for garbage. His current activities are more complex and have him collaborating with multiple conservation organizations. 

The biggest change since he joined in 2022 is his new licensure: Schimpf is a licensed sawyer, meaning he is certified to cut fallen trees and other debris using a chainsaw. 

“It’s something I enjoy, but it’s also a different kind of thinking,” Schimpf said. “I know I need to bring a chainsaw. I’m going to do this, and it’s going to be sweaty, and that’s going to be my Friday evening. I try not to bring the chainsaw out during the day. People are like, ‘why is this crazy guy walking around with a chainsaw?’”

After moving to Buffalo in 2020, Schimpf immersed himself in local conservation efforts.

Through the Western New York Land Conservancy, Schimpf learned how to remove invasive species. He later learned about the FLTC through his involvement with the conservancy.  

“I’ve learned a lot about identifying plants and trees,” Schimpf said. “I’ve also been identifying invasive bugs, like hemlock woolly adelgid, which is an issue at Zoar [Valley] and many other places.”

The insect feeds on hemlock plants and prevents it from sending nutrients to its needles, causing the plant to slowly die. When Schimpf recognizes the signs of a woolly adelgid infestation, he reports the issue to the FLTC and other organizations.  

“I’m still a student at heart, and learning these things has been fun,” Schimpf said.

Schimpf’s work as a trail maintainer isn’t all moving debris and identifying invasive species. He leads hiking expeditions, including the frigid First of the Year Hike on New Year’s Day, and he organizes park-wide cleanings for events like I Love My Park Day.

A typical day in the park varies by season, but during the spring and summer, Schimpf prepares the trails for hikers. While cleaning up trails, he remains cognizant of one of the park’s features, overgrowth. It’s also an opportunity for him to use several tools in his arsenal. 

“There’s part of the trail that tends to overgrow during the summer. I’ll come there knowing that there is a lot of bramble and thorny bushes that grow onto the trail. I’ll have clippers, or a machete if I’m feeling adventurous, and trim it down,” Schimpf said, adding he also clears overgrown grass from walking paths.

Another activity for Schimpf on the trail is monitoring. He visits different locations in Zoar Valley searching for things to clean up. Most of the time, he finds debris like sticks or fallen trees that he removes with a chainsaw. Frequently, though, he finds belongings near Zoar Valley’s Holcomb Pond. 

“It’s a different nature of activities—pun not intended there,” Schimpf said. “People swim in Holcomb a lot, and they also forget their clothes, so I find wet clothes around Holcomb Pond.”

Schimpf has shown no signs of slowing down. “I have students, I teach classes, I’m a PI on grants,” Schimpf said. “It’s nice to have this other thing that I do that is not research. It’s something I enjoy.”