FLORIDA, Mo. — It’s 8:30 on a chilly Saturday morning in Monroe County. Dozens of volunteers have arrived at Mark Twain State Park wearing work gloves and coats. They’re armed with shears, spades, shovels and saws as they begin building a new trail dedicated to Ben Sapp.
Sapp was an avid naturalist who wore many hats. At the time of his death from cancer in 2018, he was an environmental specialist with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. Before that he was a park ranger for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and until 2010, he was the park superintendent of Mark Twain State Park.
Missouri State Parks made an open call for volunteers to help clear the 1.1-mile section of undeveloped park land where the new trail will go. There were rocks to remove, branches to break and stumps to saw.
Sapp’s family members were among the trailblazers. His father, Richard Sapp, made the trip from Illinois to take part.
“He loved nature,” he said. “Things like this are what he would want to do. The only thing is he wouldn't want it named after him.”
Ben’s two sons also joined the effort. Toby Sapp, 17, said he inherited his father’s love for nature.
“Just about every weekend we’d go out and we'd hike a trail or do something – get out of the house,” he said. “Sometimes even when I didn't want to go. But now I realize it's just awesome, just being outside, not being stuck inside.”
He said the workday brought back memories of him and his dad.
“We were on a trail like this actually, and one day we looked down as we were hiking it, and there was a big old rock pile, and we kind of made a fort out of it,” he said. “We went back there a couple times, it was pretty awesome.”
Toby’s younger brother, Keaton is 13; he was young when Ben died, but still has fond memories of hiking nearby trails and fishing in nearby ponds.
“He just wanted people to know and understand how great nature can be for you and what it does for the Earth,” Keaton said.
The family was joined by a couple dozen volunteers, many of whom knew Ben and swapped stories about him on the trail.
“He was just a gentleman; he was just a quiet guy,” said Philip Whelan. “Had quite a bit of knowledge to him about life in general, and I just liked him. He was just a very personable person.”
Whelan wore a teal button-down and brown Carhartt vest, walking ahead of the pack with a pickaxe throughout the morning.
His job was breaking down the tougher rocks and stumps while other volunteers picked up the pieces. Like many of the volunteers, Whelan is a member of the Missouri Master Naturalist program, a “natural resource education and volunteer organization” that helps with conservation projects around the state. It’s sponsored by MU Extension and the Missouri Department of Conservation.
Education is a key component of the Master Naturalist program. Every new member does 40 hours of specialized training about environmental topics.
Whelan was born, grew up and lives just a few miles away from the trail. But he still learned a lot from joining.
“I thought I knew something about nature,” he said. “Well, after the first four, five months, I found out I didn't know diddly-squat.”
After graduating, members do 40 hours of volunteering a year. Whelan was volunteering when he met Sapp.
“This is because Ben and Sarah and the boys, that's why I'm here,” he said.
Family members said they were humbled to see the number of people who volunteered their time.
“He's touched a lot of people, and I think he'll be very pleased with it,” Richard Sapp said.
“I'd rather have him here and not name the trail,” he added.
People who knew Ben Sapp say he was passionate about education and helping people experience the outdoors. The Ben Sapp Memorial Trail will continue that legacy with informational panels about the area and environmental topics, such as local invasive species.
The ribbon-cutting is scheduled for June 21.