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| Photo by Lynn Kittridge |
As the season slows down and projects begin to end, pictures and reports start to trickle into the office, reminding us just how many volunteers there are in the park and how varied their work is.
Kevin and I recently received a year’s end report on the Citizen Science program, along with a bevy of pictures documenting the work over the past three months of Caitlin Kenny and fourteen volunteers in the program.
The Citizen Science program at Mount Rainier was a resounding success over the past three months. The Citizen Science program recruits and trains volunteers to help conduct scientific experiments and projects throughout the park. Led by Caitlin Kenny, a fellow intern through the Student Conservation Association, more than a dozen volunteers collected data on amphibian populations throughout the park. Working this summer and fall, from July into September, volunteers spent varying amount of time with the program, some working 8 hours, others more than 50 hours! With their help, Caitlin surveyed fifty sites at all corners of the park.
It’s good to hear about the success of the program, Citizen Science is one of my favorite volunteer opportunities here at the park. Where else can a grown adult go hunting around in lakes for frogs and salamanders like a little kid. But it’s not all fun and games. The work our Citizen Science volunteers do is extremely important and useful. They gather data from sites that the park doesn’t have the resources or people to survey, and all of this data helps us to understand the impact humans are having on the habitat of these animals. Using this data, we will make better, more informed decisions in the future.
Caitlin just finished up her internship and now she is off to bigger and better (hard to get better than Mt. Rainier) things. I want to recognize Caitlin Kenny for all the hard work she put into the program, and the incredible job she did coordinating volunteers. Not an easy task when you attention is also focused on collecting data and writing reports for our Natural Resource division. Caitlin rightly made volunteers her top priority in the program, but not just the regulars. She was always ready to work with the sudden school group, no matter how large or how unexpected. Her work with younger groups such as the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium was particularly appreciated.
And finally, I want to recognize and thank all the volunteers who participated in the Citizen Science program. Dave Purdon, Carol and Jim Miltimore (who are involved in everything park-volunteer related), Melanie Wisdom and everyone was a huge help. It’s because of you that programs like this are so successful. Pat yourself on the back, you deserve it.
Here at Mount Rainier National Park, we are pleased to welcome back for several weeks the Japanese Volunteers-in-Parks Associates from Waseda University in Tokyo. This is the 16th year of partnership between the J-VIPA program and Mount Rainier National Park and every year we mark our calender in anticipation.
As some of you may already know, Mount Rainier National Park has a special relationship with Japan. We are the sister mountain to Mount Fuji, and every year we play host this remarkable program, bridging both geographical and cultural divides.
Every year, the J-VIPA participants work on a particular project around the park, last year it was a bio-toilet for backcountry use. This year the J-VIP's are helping to build an accessible trailhead at Paradise. A sorely needed amenity.
They arrived at Sea-Tac on Saturday the 22nd, but I only managed to make it up to Paradise to see their work on Thursday. Working with maintenance,the progress they've made is amazing. For these volunteers to come thousands of miles and create something that will last far longer than their stay is really quite a cool way of experiencing the place you travel. We all like to leave little reminders that we came.
This Sunday, I'm joining the J-VIP's and their host families as we head out to Safeco Field for day at an Mariners Game. This is something that speaks across culture, baseball is as big in Japan as it is here in the U.S. Plenty of pictures will be forthcoming. And encourage anyone planning to visit Paradise soon to go and admire the J-VIP's (and Maintenance's) handiwork. I'll be sure to keep everyone updated.
Well, that's about it, so I'll simply say ではまたあとで.
おやすみなさい
I just found out about this contest, it sounds like a great opportunity for both Volunteers and Employees of the park to have some fun and maybe win an awesome new digital camera (courtesy of Olympus) for the park. All you have to do is take pictures of NPS Staff and Volunteers in their natural habitat: the park, and engaged in any scientific, educational or interpretive activities related to the parks natural resources. Pictures of visitors enjoying the park are also encouraged.
You can find the entry form and rule here.
So get out there and start taking those pictures, lets win this one for the home team.
The Washington Trails Association has been doing some fantastic work this summer on the east side of the park. Lynn Kittridge, with help from her daughter Johana, has captured some great photos of volunteers in action. The pictures include June shoveling at Sunrise and at Panorama Point, the Huckleberry Creek Bridge replacement, Owyhigh lakes trail work, and the Glacier Basin Trail ribbon cutting and first day of work.
Here's a slide show of some of Lynn's images for you to enjoy. Check out the entire collection on her Picasa website at http://picasaweb.google.com/LynnKittridge.
Thanks for the pictures, Lynn and Johana! If anyone else has pictures to share, we'll make them available for everyone to enjoy!
New media are available on this website! Check out dozens of new pictures of volunteers in action--meadow roving at Sunrise, building trails, and helping with flood recovery efforts. You can also download and view two video interviews recorded by Communication Intern Susan Newman: One of Barry and Hunter Brown, trail repair volunteers (6.54 Mb), talking about their experiences and motivations for volunteering; and one of me--Kevin Bacher, Volunteer Program Manager (9.30 Mb)--summing up the volunteer program so far this year and our partnership with SCA. Enjoy!
