JOHNSTON COUNTY - Hundreds of yards down a winding trail, not far from rhododendron-covered bluffs, 15 people tilled and pushed mounds of ruddy dirt and slashed through root systems as they blazed a new trail in the Flower Hill Natural Area. It beat a day of real work, the volunteers said.

"It's the right thing to do for the community," Randy Shackelton of Wake Forest said as he raked and graded a section of trail.

Last Wednesday, Shackelton and other volunteers helped build a 250-yard stretch of a hiking path in the 18-acre preserve, which is owned and maintained by the Triangle Land Conservancy.

The new section of trail cuts around the side of a hill instead of forcing hikers to go straight over. That change should make the area more accessible, and the new design will likely reduce erosion on a trail that sees more souls -- and soles -- every year, said Walt Tysinger, land manager for the Triangle Land Conservancy.

The Flower Hill preserve, off of N.C. 231 north of Kenly, is unique because it is home to several species of plants that are rarely seen this far east in North Carolina. Flower Hill might be known best for the stand of Catawba rhododendrons that clings to the 80-foot bluffs over Moccasin Creek. Thought to be the eastern-most Catawbas in the state, the thin, twisting plants burst with pink flowers in May.

"They talk about how beautiful it is in the spring, when the rhodoenderons bloom," said Shackelton, who works at Walmart in Smithfield. "It's a peaceful area for everybody to come to just relax, get away from the hubbub."

Actually, all of last Wednesday's volunteers were employees of Walmart, which provided tools and supplies. Last September, the retailer gave the land conservancy $29,000 to purchase eight more acres for the preserve.

Tysinger, the conservation group's land manager, relies on groups of volunteers to help maintain many of the natural sites the group runs in the Triangle. When he puts out the call, he hears back from clubs, schools and other volunteer groups.

"I have to turn people away," Tysinger said. Many people are drawn to outdoor volunteerism because it gives them the chance to break a sweat and work with their hands, he said.

"You can really see the result of your labor," he said, and volunteers' efforts "leave behind a legacy."

Last week, Tysinger and his volunteers also planted native grasses and wildflowers near the Flower Hill parking lot. The lot is a recent addition, and it has already put more hikers on the preserve's trails.