In This Issue

Volunteer Support More Critical Than Ever

Summer Accomplishments

Hummingbird Monitoring Network

Interpretive Education in Parks

Volunteer Profiles: Sally Lockwood & Judy King

Volunteer Emails

We want to better manage & support our Volunteer Program and help reduce waste! Help us get the word out: We want all volunteers with email to get on our Newsletter list.

So please tell your Volunteer friends to visit the Arizona State Parks Volunteer web page for instructions on signing up.

Did You Know?

We have a new Projected On-Site Volunteer Position Page. We hope to direct potential volunteers to this page instead of spending so much time fielding calls, emails, and letters—7 parks are currently participating. On this page you can check projected on-site openings up to one year in advance. You can also see what's available by month for the parks.

In the short time this page has been live it has jumped to the #2 position in popularity for the Volunteer Section of the website. It was viewed 779 times during the month of September, 2009.

Check out the Grids for yourself or tell a friend.

Volunteer Support More Critical Than Ever

Volunteers Joanne Hogan and Andrew Hogan welcomed visitors to Oracle State Park's Fiesta de las Calabazas, on Oct. 3, 2009. See More Photos from this event.

Welcome back to all our volunteers who spent the summer months in cooler climes, with a big thank you to volunteers who helped us through the last few tough months. It has certainly been a challenge to keep our spirits up during this economic downturn. 

A quick synopsis of the current situation:

• 3 parks are closed (Jerome, McFarland and Oracle)
• 8 parks are currently on a 5 Day Schedule (closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays) Learn more about 5 Day Schedules
• We had to lay off 13 full-time staff members in October
• We will no longer have a coordinated Statewide Interpretive Education (IE) program

Specifically for the Volunteer Program:

We have a very limited volunteer program budget. This means that we cannot purchase uniform items at this time – we may be able to order in the next couple of months, but please be patient. We are using up the current inventory, and trying to see if anyone would like to sponsor t-shirts or polos. As an alternative, the volunteer uniform policy has been modified so that you can wear your own plain white t-shirts or plain white or green polo shirts, but no other company’s logos please!

These are tough days, but you truly inspire the staff. So please know that you help keep us going.

Summer Accomplishments

The Slide Rock Apple Festival was held with the support of the Friends of Slide Rock State Park. 53 volunteers donated 450 hours in support of the event. Check out the Photo Gallery from this event. Pictured are Pat Dutrack & Velma Finnern who helped with registration and raffle ticket sales at the Fest.

The Aldo Leopold Centennial Celebration was commemorated at 4 of our parks this summer: Kartchner Caverns, Lyman Lake, Red Rock, and Oracle State Park. 

The third annual Tom Sawyer Day of Service was held at Fort Verde State Park. 80 volunteers donated 418 hours of hard work painting the parade ground fence. Check out the Photo Gallery from this event.

Several volunteers have assisted us with public outreach programming in the Phoenix area. 18 hours of service were donated to 2 events, Cabela’s Outdoor Days and REI’s support of Public Land Days.

Hummingbird Monitoring Network

Arizona State Parks is participating in the Hummingbird Monitoring Network. This partnership, which also includes the Audubon Society, supports research into the migration patterns of several key hummingbird species through our state. Our first “feeder watch” patch was established last year at Sonoita Creek State Natural Area. An additional patch was established at Boyce Thompson Arboretum State Park in September. A third patch will be set-up along the Verde River Greenway State Natural Area in March next year.

Volunteers participate in this program by recording the species of hummingbirds that visit the feeders once a week. In addition, banding of birds may take place at specific times of the year. Ever tried to band a hummingbird? If you are interested in supporting this program, please contact Nicole at narmstrong(at) azstateparks.gov

Interpretive Education in Parks

In 2005, author Richard Louv’s book Last Child in the Woods was a wake up call to those of us who care about the natural world, and our connection to it. The book explores the “increasing divide between the young and the natural world, and the environmental, social, psychological, and spiritual implications of that change.” Louv charges that “Our society is teaching young people to avoid direct experience in nature. That lesson is delivered in schools, families, even organizations devoted to the outdoors, and codified into the legal and regulatory structures of many of our communities.”

Many initiatives were started as a result of these charges. In Arizona, the “Be Outdoors Arizona” group (which includes many agencies such as Audubon Arizona, AZ. Department of Education, and of course, AZ State Parks) has been meeting for over two years. They Pledge to encourage continuous nature-centered outdoor experiences that enrich the lives of children.  

They aspire to achieve the following:

Children will have outdoor opportunities for free play and discovery that include varied experiences, materials and locations; include experiences that stimulate exploration, imagination and curiosity; are developmentally appropriate; support social, cognitive, emotional and physical growth; instill a sense of place; encourage “safe risks;” include exploration of the regional environment and culture.

It is going to be extremely difficult for our agency to support much of this work, since we have limited resources allocated to Interpretive Education. However, it is more critical than ever that we engage our youth. If any volunteers have ideas on how to move forward with any of these aspirations at specific parks, please let’s talk! See, www.childrenandnature.org for more information regarding the movement.

Volunteer Profiles: Sally Lockwood & Judy King

Arizona State Parks needs volunteer support in all areas, now, more than ever. Help spread the word azstateparks.com/volunteer