Overview

Program Overview

The demand for sustainable trails has increased in recent decades, and outdoor recreation can be a major economic driver for communities. Knowledge of sustainable trails has also increased in recent decades. While there are professional organizations offering short trainings, this curriculum is both more in-depth and more accessible.

The graduate certificate program in Sustainable Trails Development provides a great synergy with local trail development and programming efforts, including WVU’s 2020 International Mountain Bicycling Association Trail Accelerator Grant. The Mon River Trails were inducted to the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy Rail-Trail Hall of Fame in 2020, Blue Ridge Outdoors proclaimed WVU the best large college for outdoor adventure in the southeast and Mid-Atlantic, and Morgantown was selected in 2021 as the pilot city for the Youth Cycling Coalition.

The curriculum covers:

Advocacy: benefits of trails, funding sources, fund-raising, planning for skills progression and shared-use

Design/build: site-responsive design, sustainability, construction materials/costs

Post-build: volunteer/ community engagement, interpretation, and ongoing assessment/maintenance

The extra flexibility of a graduate certificate program allows students to complete the program either on its own, or with a traditional graduate degree. Let WVU open doors to a better path forward.