On Friday afternoon a small group of volunteers donned their work boots and personal protective equipment and planted a rain garden at the trailhead of Clarks Run and Henson Trails just off of Stanford Road.

The two trails are just part of the Danville Trails Alliance project, which started in 2013, and now consists of several pedestrian and bicycle trails around the county.

The Clarks Run Trailhead was a collaborative effort of city and county governments, private businesses and organizations, according to Clarks Run Environmental Education Corporation (CREEC) chair Preston Miles. The Alliance serves as coordinator and sponsor for the development of shared-use trails in the community and built the kiosk at the Clarks Run trailhead.

The Kentucky Home for Aged and Infirm Deaf, which owns and manages the Village Apartments on Stanford Road, granted an easement to the city for the trailhead, Miles wrote in an email. Danville Public Works designed and engineered the trailhead, built the concrete entranceway and performed finish grading for the site and the rain garden, he wrote.

Caldwell Stone and The Allen Company donated stone for the base and installed finish paving. The Boyle County Health Department provided support for environmental educational signage.

On Friday Alexis Sheffield, with the Boyle County Extension office, along with members of the Garden Club of Danville and CREEC planted several types of native plants which she had recommended for the area, and shoveled mounds of mulch — all while taking extra precautions to stay at appropriate distances from each other.

Jennifer Kirchner, executive director of the Convention and Visitors Bureau told the board that despite all of the public restrictions and closings of schools, playgrounds, and businesses, “Trails have survived the pandemic.”