ROCKPORT — Camden Hills Regional High School announced that First National Bank has provided a grant of $1,000 to support the new running, skiing and nature trail to be built this spring on school property.

A volunteer group called the Windjammer Trailblazers submitted grant requests to several area organizations, and First National Bank was the first to respond with a donation.

FNB joins other local businesses who have contributed in-kind services including Gartley & Dorsky Engineering & Surveying, Bragg’s Tree Care, Viking Lumber, Dorr Wood Carving & Sign Company, and landscaper David Wellman.

“It’s great to see such broad support for this project,” said CHRHS athletic director Steve Alex. According to Alex, the course currently used by the high school and middle school cross-country teams and the Nordic ski team extends across land that does not belong to the school and thus cannot be properly maintained.

Before heavy snow arrived, about a dozen parents and student volunteers prepared the trail for excavation work that can happen once the ground thaws. The Trailblazers have now cleared a two-loop, 5K course that utilizes most of the grass portions of the current course and includes a new trail that stretches about three quarters of a mile through the woods. When weather allows, they will be installing culverts and building a bridge to complete the trail, which runs along the old stone wall behind the public tennis courts, past the bridge to CRES, and around the football practice field. The nature trail will extend along the stream from the CRES bridge to Doc’s Classroom near the front of the high school.

The goal is to have most of the trail ready for the base material by June, when the high school plans to resurface the track. The ground-up asphalt from the track can be used as a base on the trail. Once the base is complete, the finished surface will be applied over the summer so that the new trail will be ready for the start of the 2017 cross country season in late August.

The budget will ultimately depend on how much volunteer labor and donated materials and services the Trailblazers can secure. The group hopes to raise another $10,000 to purchase the materials for the trail, the bridge, and the culverts by June.

The group has set up a Facebook page to post updates and to coordinate volunteers: www.facebook.com/windjammertrailblazers.

Donations can be dropped off at the high school or checks made payable to CHRHS Trailblazers and sent to the high school at 25 Keelson Drive, Rockport. To volunteer or to discuss corporate sponsorships or in-kind donations of equipment or services, contact Shawn Stockman at sstockman01@hotmail.com.

Reach the sports department at: sports@penbaypilot.com.