September 2011 - Parks & Recreation - 113

A d minis t rat ion

Perks for Park Volunteers
Set your organization apart from others by offering
benefits to people willing to help out
By Heather Larson

NPS/Ted Toth

olunteers abound. More
than 63.4 million contributed 8.1 billion hours of
service between September 2009 and September
2010, according to the Corporation for
National and Community Service (www.-
volunteeringinamerica.gov).
With so many government budget
cuts, parks need to tap into that volunteer
reservoir now more than ever. But simply submitting a blurb to your local newspaper or putting an ad on Craigslist may
no longer be enough to attract the people
you need.
Some parks have met with success by
offering their volunteers extensive training, opportunities to spend time with pets,
lots of recognition, and even tickets to
baseball games. Consider some of these
techniques as a way to draw in and keep
the volunteers you now need.

volunteers often teach the sessions because
Tobin says those are the people with the
expertise. Trained volunteers take part in
ongoing education and enrichment once
a month.
■■ Benefits-The perks at Roxborough
go well beyond the training, which is extensive. After contributing 48 hours of service, volunteers receive a free pass good
for admission to all Colorado state parks.
Unpaid helpers are recognized at an annual
potluck, and each receives a personalized
$5 gift, a uniform shirt if the budget allows,
and lapel pins for years of service. Tobin believes giving pins for years of service work
is much better than rewarding volunteers
for the number of hours they have served.
" Pins do the same thing-and don't
make anyone who can't devote a lot of
hours feel bad, " says Tobin. " No matter
how little or how much time they give, every one of them is appreciated. "

Naturalist Program at Roxborough
State Park in Littleton, Colorado

Colorado Parks and Wildlife, in
Denver, Colorado

Angel Tobin, volunteer and interpretive
services manager, says she has a stable
volunteer program with 170 very active
people. These volunteer naturalists present environmental education programs to
the public, Scouts, schools, the community, and other organizations. They also
help with trail maintenance, weed management, special projects and events,
and staffing the entrance station and the
visitor center.
■■ Training-Once approved, each volunteer undergoes 32 hours of intense training
that's spread out over a number of weeks.
Training includes information about natural
resources, animals, wildflowers, interpretation techniques, and more. Experienced

Statewide volunteers in the park system
contributed 208,600 hours of service in
2010, says Deb Frazier, communications
manager for Colorado Parks and Wildlife,
which encompasses all the state parks.
These people work as campground hosts
and interpreters, and on special projects,
trail crews, and much more.
■■ Training-All volunteers receive training, says Frazier, but, depending on the job
to be done, some training is more intense.
She cited and compared the naturalist training at Roxborough State Park to a college
course. Volunteers learn about conservation, trail maintenance, outdoor recreation,
and more through training and continuing
education.

www.NRPA .ORG

■■ Benefits-Unpaid workers are invited to
appreciation barbecues and may receive
gifts such as pins, certificates, coffee mugs,
walking sticks, t-shirts, key chains, first aid
kits, backpacks, and camping chairs. Their
uniforms are also provided.

Paw Patrol at Cuyahoga Valley
National Park in Peninsula, Ohio
" Our park is one of the few national parks
that allow visitors to bring leashed dogs
on park trails, so we created Paw Patrol
to help inform visitors about the correct
ways to enjoy the park with their dogs, "
says Jamie Walters, volunteer services
administrative intern. " Currently we have
38 human volunteers and 42 dog volunteers walking our 104 miles of trails, orienting people to the park and answering
their questions. "

At Paw Patrol, dog owners and
their canine companions serve as
ambassadors on the trails.

SEPTEMBER 2011

Parks & Recreation

111

September 2011 - Parks & Recreation

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