LOST FOUND AND
During sophomore EPICS (Engineering Projects in Community Service) class, when asked how she could improve her community, HELEN VENTIKOS ’23 (above) landed on mapping and blazing the numerous trails at Foxcroft, which she eventually turned into an Academic Concentration. “Hiking was a big part of my life at Foxcroft,” shared Helen. “I felt the effects of being in nature — even if I didn’t know it.”
A TRAIL MAPPING PROJECT Beginning with Mountville Trail and the support of her EPICS teacher Julie Fisher, Helen prototyped posts and signage, then mapped and blazed the trail. “Dropping Mountville posts was the most laborious part of the process,” she acknowledged. “Shout out to Mr. Northrup, who brought posts into the forest and Mountville Road to help reduce our load. Another big shout-out to the maintenance team. They put every single one of these posts in the ground, and for that, I am most grateful.” Gaining some student partners during junior year, Helen’s team was able to make improvements to Mountville Trail, map and blaze Pink House Trail, use Strava to discern where to put mileage markers on both trails and, create a user manual for easy maintenance and adaptation in the future. A big test of the trails came senior year during the annual Paul K. Bergan Poetry Festival. “Ms. Tilghman printed her own blazes and signs with QR codes of poems and added them to Pink House Trail. She used the original design files and adapted them to her needs, demonstrating how versatile and adaptable the system is,” offered Helen. “This turned out to be my odyssey at Foxcroft,” she shared during her final concentration presentation. “This is just a sliver of the entire Foxcroft trails. It would be amazing if someone plans to keep this up and add more.” Left: Kiki Hughey ’25 contemplates poetry and the beauty around her while walking the Pink House Trail mapped by Helen Ventikos ’23 and her team.
26 Foxcroft Magazine
