MRNPA Announces 2016 Work Parties

It's time to start thinking ahead to summer! Mount Rainier National Park Associates has released the dates for their summer Saturday work parties.

During 2016, MRNPA will be conducting six volunteer work parties at Mount Rainier, consisting of four Saturdays of trail maintenance and two Saturdays "gardening in the Park." Please mark your calendars to join us on any or all of the following dates. The locations will be determined by park staff about two weeks before each volunteer work party.

April 30 - trail maintenance (a great day to get that first spring outing at Mount Rainier)
May 21 - trail maintenance
June 18 - trail maintenance
July 16 - "deveg" (exotic plant removal)
August 13 - trail maintenance during the day, followed by a pot luck dinner and an overnight camp for the volunteers who have worked that day
September 10 - "reveg"  (planting wildflower seedlings to re-establish alpine meadows)

I hope to see you on one, or more, of these MRNPA volunteer work parties.
John Titland
Volunteer Coordinator
Mount Rainier National Park Associates

For more information, contact John at volunteer@mrnpa.org

Volunteers will work on trails and native plant revegetation at Mount Rainier on National Public Lands Day, September 26; Entrance fees waived

September 21, 2015

For Immediate Release

Kevin Bacher, Volunteer Program Manager

360-569-6567, Kevin_Bacher [at] nps.gov

Mount Rainier National Park will celebrate National Public Lands Day on Saturday, September 26, 2015 with several volunteer projects open to public participation. The work day caps a busy summer in which nearly 2,000 people have contributed to the protection of Mount Rainier’s natural and cultural treasures and helped serve its visitors.

National Public Lands Day is an annual celebration of public involvement in the stewardship of America’s national, state, and local parks and forests. More than 200,000 individuals are expected to participate in events all over the country. In recognition of this, entrance fees will be waived at all national parks for the day. Volunteers will receive an additional coupon for free admission on a day of their choice.

Members of the public are invited to join in the day’s work. The National Parks Conservation Association will help coordinate registration for the event beginning at 9:00 a.m. at the White River Campground in the northeastern corner of the park. After a brief welcome at 9:00, participants will divide into work groups. The Washington Trails Association and Park Service crew leaders will lead trail maintenance projects around Sunrise, while other crews will work on restoring subalpine meadows by planting species grown in the park’s greenhouse from seeds collected from the meadows of Sunrise. Trail work is suitable for ages 16 and up, while revegetation is good for all ages. Additional projects may be added as well.

Volunteers should come prepared for the possibility of cool, wet weather, with warm clothing, rain gear, sturdy footwear, and gloves. Knee pads are also recommended for planting. If the weather is nice, sunglasses, sunscreen, and hats are recommended. Volunteers should also bring water, snacks, and a lunch.

Free camping at the White River Campground is available both the day before and after National Public Lands Day for event participants. Contact Ian Harvey at Ian_Harvey@partner.nps.gov to reserve a campsite, and include the total number of people in your group as well as the number of tents you will be using.

Volunteers at Mount Rainier National Park maintain trails, patrol park roads and wilderness areas, assist and educate visitors, conduct research as citizen scientists, plant native plants, as well as dozens of other tasks. Last year, 1,693 volunteers contributed 57,336 hours of service, an effort valued at $1.5 million.

Information about Mount Rainier’s volunteer program, including a list of open positions, a calendar of activities, and pictures and videos of volunteers in action may be found on Mount Rainier National Park’s website at www.nps.gov/mora, or on its volunteer program blog at rainiervolunteers.blogspot.com.

- NPS -

Volunteer Newsletter: July 2015

June Highlights

The start of our volunteer season was a strong one in June, with many different events culminating in hours of hard work put in around the mountain.  Here are some highlights from the past month:

Tribal Use Dedication – June 10^th

At the junction of the Nisqually River and the Longmire Stewardship Campground lies a recently dedicated piece of land.  This land was dedicated as a Tribal Use Area, as members of the Nisqually Tribe participated in the dedication, showcasing traditional dance and grilling salmon over a fire.

Geocacher’s CITO Event – June 13^th

The 8^th Annual CITO (Cache In, Trash Out) event was a very productive one, as geocachers and others worked hard in and around the Longmire Stewardship Campground.  They were able to help prepare the campground for the fast approaching summer season by cleaning the campsites, removing debris, erecting platform tents, filling potholes, and giving a much needed coat of paint to an adjacent firebox.  Thanks to their dedication year after year, we are able to provide a spectacular campground for all of our volunteers to enjoy.

Girl Scouts of Tacoma, Washington – June 25^th to June 28^th

Seven members of Girl Scout Troop 40216 of Tacoma, Washington stayed with us in the Longmire Stewardship Campground and had a blast.  When they arrived, they had a lesson with volunteer coordinator Crow on different forms of photography and lessons on various organisms from a “Penny’s Perspective.”  The second day they spent with members of our Education team and learned all about habitats around Mount Rainier and spent much of their additional time hiking to Carter Falls, cooling off in the Nisqually River, and constructing a small rock dam in the ultimate show of teamwork (they later destroyed it, as it was not to be a permanent structure).  On their final day, they tied all this new knowledge together to participate in our MeadoWatch program.  They walked along portions of trail in the Paradise area, taking pictures of flowers they saw, making note of their exact location, and entered it into an Internet database once they returned home.  The intrepid group of girls pressed on bravely through the sweltering sun in the name of science, and with the promise from their leaders of ice cream at the end.  Work with a Boy Scout or Girl Scout Troop in your hometown and are looking for service projects?  We can help! 

Citizen Science Trainings – Throughout the Month of June

Many citizen science projects kicked off this month with higher numbers of volunteers than ever before.  The MeadoWatch program is designed to allow volunteers of all kinds to help monitor and track the impacts of global climate change at Mount Rainier.  Participants will be collecting information throughout the summer and over many years in the form of noting the stage of development of different species of flowers along a set trail.  Scientists will then study this data and compare it from year to year.  The Cascades Butterfly Project is taking the same approach as the MeadoWatch crew in that they are enlisting the help of dozens of volunteers to help track and identify sensitive indicator species, such as butterflies, in five different locations throughout the park.  They too will be continuing on with this project over many years and tracking the effects of global climate change.  Love science and want to participate in these or similar studies?  There are still spots available!

Meadow Rovers – Throughout the Month of June

This year is on track to be one of the most popular years for visitors in Mount Rainier’s history.  With thousands upon thousands of visitors rambling through the trails, many questions may go unanswered, many flowers may be picked from our pristine subalpine fields, many dogs may chase down those loveable marmots, and many meadows may become stomped.  This is where the Meadow Rover crew comes into play.  Showing in record numbers this year, the Meadow Rovers have one goal: to improve protection of the meadows at Paradise and Sunrise through visitor education.  This devoted group of volunteers spends their time on patrol around the meadows of Paradise and Sunrise, sharing stories with visitors on a wide range of topics, educating guests on a variety of ecological concepts and programming within the park, and assisting those in need while on the trails.  We’d love to have you out roving the meadows at either Paradise or Sunrise!

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Looking Ahead to July

July is looking to be a hot month, but that won’t stop our volunteer crews!  Here are some events coming up in the month of July (and beyond).

Eatonville 4^th of July Parade – July 4^th

This year we are celebrating the 100^th anniversary of the Wonderland trail, the 90+ mile loop trail that encircles the mountain.  Come cheer us on, or if you’d like, join us walking the parade route!  For more information, contact Jim Ross at Jim_Ross@nps.gov, or just show up at 11:30 on Penn Avenue in Eatonville and look for the ranger vehicle. Wear your trail maintenance helmets and show your support for the Wonderland Trail!

SCA Community Crew #1 – July 6^th

On July 6^th, we welcome our first of three youth crews from the Seattle area as part of the Student Conservation Association’s Community Crew program.  These volunteers will spend two weeks working in the backcountry alongside trail crews, improving many miles of trails.  If you hike past them, make sure to express your support for them and all of their hard work! The second crew will then be arriving on July 27th and staying through August 10th.

Mount Rainier National Parks Associates “Deveg” – July 11^th

The next MRNPA volunteer work party will be on Saturday, July 11^th.  The primary focus of this work party will be exotic plant removal, or “deveg,” at the site of the new Carbon River Ranger Station, just west of the Carbon River Entrance.  They are meeting between 8:30am and 9:00am in front of the ranger station and no prior experience is needed; all training necessary will be provided on site.  If interested, please contact MRNPA at volunteer@mrnpa.org with information of how many volunteers you are expecting to accompany you.

Washington Trails Association Trail Work – Every Weekend of the Summer

The WTA is a longstanding partner of Mount Rainier National Park, and every weekend they are having volunteer work parties that are designed to improve sections of trail that are commonly traveled.  For information on where their next work project is in the park and how YOU can join them, visit www.wta.org.

Volunteer Picnics – August 14^th and 15^th

Remember that our annual Volunteer Picnics (Longmire on the 14^th and Sunrise on the 15^th) will be held in August.  Food will be provided at both events, and more information will be posted on the volunteer blog (rainiervolunteers.blogspot.com) soon!

Mount Rainier National Park Associates sets 2015 schedule

Greetings,

 

During 2015 Mount Rainier National Park  Associates will be conducting six volunteer work parties at Mount Rainier: four Saturdays of doing trail maintenance and two Saturdays doing "alpine gardening".   We invite you to join us for a day or two of volunteer work, donating your time and effort, but also enjoying the amazing place that is Mount Rainier National Park and the company of people who love that place.

 

Please mark your calendars to join us on any, or all, of the following dates [subject to change!].  The locations will be determined by park staff about two weeks before the volunteer work party.

 

April 25th  trail maintenance (a great day to get that first spring outing at Mount Rainier)

May 16th   trail maintenance

June 13th  trail maintenance

July 11th   The Deveg  (exotic plant removal, also known as weeding, but a surprisingly fun Saturday) 

August 15th  trail maintenance during the day, followed by a pot luck dinner, and an overnight camp for the volunteers who have worked that day

September 12th  The Reveg  (planting wildflower seedlings to re-establish alpine meadows)

 

I hope to see you on one, or more, of these MRNPA volunteer work parties.

 

John Titland
Volunteer Coordinator
Mount Rainier National Park Associates

Volunteers will work on trails and campground restoration at Mount Rainier on National Public Lands Day, September 27; Entrance fees waived

Mount Rainier National Park will celebrate National Public Lands Day on Saturday, September 27, 2014, with several volunteer projects open to public participation. The work day caps a busy summer in which nearly 2,000 people have contributed to the protection of Mount Rainier’s natural and cultural treasures and helped serve its visitors.


National Public Lands Day is an annual celebration of public involvement in the stewardship of America’s national, state, and local parks and forests. More than 170,000 individuals are expected to participate in events all over the country. In recognition of this, entrance fees will be waived at all national parks for the day. Volunteers will receive an additional coupon for free admission on a day of their choice.


Members of the public are invited to join in the day’s work. The National Parks Conservation Association will help coordinate registration for the event beginning at 8:00 a.m. at Longmire, six miles inside the southwest entrance to the park. After a brief welcome at 9:00, participants will divide into work groups. The Washington Trails Association and Park Service crew leaders will lead trail maintenance projects at Paradise, while other crews will winterize a campground at Longmire that is used by volunteers, school groups, and other park partners. Trail work is suitable for ages 16 and up, while campground maintenance is good for all ages. Additional projects may be added as well.


Another project, revegetating a former campground near Sunrise, will put a small number of volunteers to work on the east side of the national park. Volunteers interested in planting should meet crew leaders in front of the Sunrise Visitor Center at 9:00 a.m. and plan for a mile-long hike to the project location. This project can only accept about a dozen volunteers. Please RSVP to Kevin Bacher at Kevin_Bacher@nps.gov. Volunteers should come prepared for cool, wet weather, with warm clothing, rain gear, sturdy footwear, and gloves. Knee pads are also recommended for planting. If the weather is nice, sunglasses, sunscreen, and hats are recommended. Volunteers should also bring water, snacks, and a lunch.


Free camping at the Longmire Campground is available both the day before and after National Public Lands Day for event participants. Kevin Bacher at Kevin_Bacher@nps.gov to reserve a campsite.


Volunteers at Mount Rainier National Park maintain trails, patrol park roads and wilderness areas, assist and educate visitors, conduct research as citizen scientists, and plant native plants. Last year, 1,784 volunteers contributed 62,736 hours of service, an effort valued at $1.4 million.


Information about Mount Rainier’s volunteer program, including a list of open positions, a calendar of activities, and pictures and videos of volunteers in action may be found on Mount Rainier National Park’s website at www.nps.gov/mora, or on its volunteer program blog at rainiervolunteers.blogspot.com.

- NPS -

September is still trail maintenance month for WTA

Autumn is definitely setting in in the mountains, with cool nights and lots of amber grasses in the landscape. Still, the days are sunny and beautiful with blue skies, and the Washington Trails Association is still busy maintaining trails at Mount Rainier National Park! If you're looking for a late-season volunteer project, check out the full list of WTA projects at http://www.wta.org/volunteer/trail-work-parties, and look for the ones labeled Mount Rainier. This month's work is scheduled for the gorgeous Skyline Trail at Paradise.

A reminder, too: Saturday September 27 will be National Public Lands Day, so mark that on your calendar and plan to come out and help! We'll be doing multiple trail projects in the Paradise area on that date.

Thanks for the great trails!

Our Superintendent, Randy King, received this e-mail from a grateful visitor, and asked that I pass it along. Thank you, trail volunteers!!!

Date: Tue, Sep 2, 2014 at 2:24 PM
Subject: From NPS.gov: The Wonderland Trail

Mailing Address:
lake orion, mi 48361

I just backpacked the Wonderland Trail and I wanted to send my sincere thanks to all the workers and trail crews and volunteers who have done such an amazing job of trail design, work and maintenance. I do a lot of volunteer trail work and what I saw was some of the best and most comprehensive trails and bridges and rock creations I've ever experienced. Please send my thanks for a job so very well done!

Volunteer Newsletter: July, 2014

Happy 4th of July weekend!

Summer has shifted into high gear at Mount Rainier National Park, with all park visitor centers, campgrounds, and roads open except for Mowich Lake, and snow melting rapidly. Volunteers are busy all over the park, and there are opportunities almost every day to get involved in projects lasting from a single day to the rest of the summer. Here’s a look at our summer calendar:

Every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday: Join the Washington Trails Association for a day of trail maintenance! Visit www.wta.org and click the “Volunteer” tab to find out where WTA is working. Next weekend they’ll be working on the Wonderland Trail near Longmire, and they’ll move higher as the snow melts. For future reference (since this year’s groups are already full), WTA also leads multi-day “Backcountry Response Teams” that go farther out into the wilderness for the ultimate “Volunteer Vacation” experience. This year’s teams will be working in late July and early September on the Wonderland Trail between Klapatche Park and Golden Lakes, arguably one of the most beautiful areas of the park.

Every Monday through Thursday: Stop in at the park’s Greenhouse, located at Park Headquarters between Ashford and Elbe, to help with planting, weeding, repotting, and other green thumb activities that help with the park’s native plant restoration efforts.

Saturday, July 12: The Mount Rainier National Park Associates (MRNPA) welcomes volunteers to help with their annual Exotic Plant Removal project. They’ll be working in the Carbon River corner of the park. Visit www.mrnpa.org for details and information on how to sign up.

Saturday, August 2: MRNPA will return for a trail work party, followed by a potluck and campout. Visit www.mrnpa.org for details.

Friday, August 16: Our annual Volunteer Picnic at Longmire! Join us at the Longmire Community Building at 4:00 for a potluck picnic and a celebration of all things volunteer!

Saturday, August 17: Our annual East Side Volunteer Picnic will be held at the Sunrise Picnic Area at 4:00. Bring your own grillables and drinks, and a side dish or dessert to share!

Saturday, September 6: Revegetation day! Join us to plant native plants in a restoration area near Sunrise. All are welcome! Visit www.mrnpa.org for details, or read our blog entry about last year’s project.

Friday, September 5 to Sunday, September 21: Help represent Mount Rainier National Park at the Washington State Fair in Puyallup! Staff our booth for a four-hour block of time, and receive free entrance and parking. Contact Jim_Ross(at)nps.gov to express your interest.

Saturday, September 27: National Public Lands Day is our biggest volunteer day of the year. Details are still being worked out, but volunteer options will probably include trail maintenance and planting in the White River and Sunrise corner of the park. Make sure you’re on our mailing list to receive details.

Every Day: You can contribute to research just by snapping photos! If you have a camera with a built-in GPS unit (including almost all modern smart phones), upload your pictures of flowering plants to help build a database of what’s blooming and when. Visit the MeadoWatch website to find out how!

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Also Going On

As you explore Mount Rainier National Park, look for volunteer uniforms. You’ll see them almost everywhere you go! Here are some of the things currently going on in the park:

Student Conservation Association (SCA) Community Crews will be working on trails all over the park. Our first crew of high school students arrives July 6, and the last crew leaves August 31st. Crews are made up of students from Seattle and Joint Base Lewis-McChord, and are funded by grants from the National Park Foundation and Washington’s National Park Fund.

Washington Conservation Corps teams will also be working on trails from July 23 through August 31.

ArrowCorps, a project of the Seattle Boy Scouts of America, will be working on a variety of projects from August 5 to 7.

Volunteer Groups like Starbucks, the Sierra Club, Girl Scout Troops, and local High Schools can be seen working on trails and revegetation projects almost every weekend.

Interns from SCA, the Geologic Society of America, and local colleges will be joining seasonal park rangers and unaffiliated volunteers in the park’s visitor centers, and helping to conduct research in the field. The Visitor Center at Ohanapecosh is back open this summer thanks in part to these volunteers! Other volunteers offer night time astronomy programs at Paradise. In addition, “Teacher-Ranger-Teacher” volunteers will be here for several weeks, helping with educational programs, curricula, and our annual teacher workshop.

Emergency Roadside Assistance volunteers, nicknamed “Ravens,” patrol the Paradise area, helping visitors who need jump starts, air in their tires, or help retrieving locked keys. Look for the pickup with the volunteer program logo on the door. This year’s program is made possible by your donations through Washington’s National Park Fund!

Meadow Rovers form the park’s largest team of active volunteers, and patrol the trails above Paradise and Sunrise, assisting visitors and educating them about the importance of staying on trails and not feeding wildlife.

Backcountry Patrol volunteers are similar to Meadow Rovers, except that they venture farther into the wilderness areas of the park, and assist with backcountry trails and campsites.

Campground Hosts will welcome you if you stay at Cougar Rock, Ohanapecosh, or the Longmire Stewardship Campground.

Visitor Survey Volunteers will be seen handing out survey forms at several locations throughout the month of July. Thank you to everyone who signed up for this special project!

Citizen Scientists can be found all over the park, and are trained to perform very specific jobs that contribute to our understanding of Mount Rainier’s plants, animals, ecosystems, and climate. Amphibian Survey volunteers venture out to backcountry lakes and ponds... MeadoWatch volunteers inventory flowering plants... and Cascades Butterfly Survey volunteers tally butterflies on transects set up around the park. In addition, several people have signed up for a brand new Citizen Science project called the “Cascade Carnivore Project,” collecting wild animal scat on park trails.

Search and Rescue volunteers help out almost every time there’s a lost or injured hiker or climber in the park, and converge on the mountain from communities all over the state. We are extremely grateful for our Mountain Rescue partners and the many other volunteers who support them!

These are just a few of the many, many ways that volunteers serve at Mount Rainier National Park. If you cross paths with someone wearing the volunteer patch, say hello and thank them for their service—and ask how you can help too!

Volunteers will work on trails and campground restoration at Mount Rainier on National Public Lands Day, September 28 – Entrance fees to be waived

Mount Rainier National Park News Release

September 23, 2013For Immediate ReleaseKevin Bacher, Volunteer Program Manager360-569-6567, Kevin_Bacher@nps.gov

Mount Rainier National Park will celebrate National Public Lands Day on Saturday, September 28, 2013, with several volunteer projects open to public participation. The work day caps a busy summer in which nearly 2,000 people have contributed to the protection of Mount Rainier’s natural and cultural treasures and helped serve its visitors.

National Public Lands Day is an annual celebration of public involvement in the stewardship of America’s national, state, and local parks and forests. More than 170,000 individuals are expected to participate in events all over the country. In recognition of this, entrance fees will be waived at all national parks for the day. Volunteers will receive an additional coupon for free admission on a day of their choice.

Members of the public are invited to join in the day’s work. The National Parks Conservation Association will help coordinate registration for the event beginning at 8:00 a.m. at Longmire, six miles inside the southwest entrance to the park. After a brief welcome at 9:00, participants will divide into work groups. The Washington Trails Association and Park Service crew leaders will lead trail maintenance projects around Paradise, while other crews will continue historic restoration work in a campground at Longmire that is used by volunteers, school groups, and other park partners. Trail work is suitable for ages 16 and up, while campground restoration is good for all ages.

Volunteers should come prepared for cool, wet weather, with warm clothing, rain gear, sturdy footwear, and gloves. If the weather is nice, sunglasses, sunscreen, and hats are recommended. Volunteers should also bring water, snacks, and a lunch.

Free camping at the Longmire Campground is available both the day before and after National Public Lands Day for event participants. Contact Joshua Jones at Joshua_Jones@partner.nps.gov to reserve a campsite.

Volunteers at Mount Rainier National Park maintain trails, patrol wilderness areas and climbing routes, assist and educate visitors, conduct research as citizen scientists, plant native plants, and catalogue historic records. Last year, 1,804 volunteers contributed 74,615 hours of service, an effort valued at $1.65 million.

Information about Mount Rainier’s volunteer program, including a list of open positions, a calendar of activities, and pictures and videos of volunteers in action may be found on Mount Rainier National Park’s website atwww.nps.gov/mora, or on its volunteer program blog at rainiervolunteers.blogspot.com.

- NPS -

A successful National Public Lands Day for 2012!

This year, 97 people participated in National Public Lands Day projects at Mount Rainier National Park. Most--85 all told--worked at Sunrise. Half of those spent the day improving the Wonderland Trail between Frozen Lake and Sunrise Camp under the direction of Park Service and Washington Trails Association crew leaders. The other half worked to put native plants into a restoration site near Sunrise Camp. Meanwhile, an even dozen worked on cleaning up the highway near Mount Rainier's park headquarters, as described in the previous post.

The day's total included members of a class from The Evergreen State College; members of a local Boy Scout Troop; and many members of the general public, some of whom have become old friends from repeated attendance at NPLD.

More volunteers were active in the park on their regular duties, unrelated specifically to National Public Lands Day. I encountered two Meadow Rovers on the trail near Frozen Lake, and several were reportedly busy at Paradise as well. I heard another volunteer report in from Tipsoo Lake on the radio.

The numbers were a little small this year compared to other years, but the remote location of most of the work was probably responsible, combined with deceptively poor weather in the lowlands: while it was cloudy and rainy down low, we were partly cloudy and dry on the Mountain and surrounded by beautiful fall weather. We were even visited by a black bear, who sauntered past the trail crews at a distance of just 20 yards, completely ignoring them.

Enjoy the slide show of photos here, and if you'd like a more complete set of images, find it here.

August MRNPA Trails Work Party!

Greetings,

 

The next Mount Rainier National Park Associates trails work party will be Saturday, August 11th.  That's about three weeks from now.  We will be working in the Longmire/Paradise area.  The exact location will be determined some time closer to the August 11th date and I will report the location to you as soon as I know it.   Wherever the work location, we will meet at the upper end of the Longmire parking lot, near the museum, at 8:30 AM on Saturday morning, and be ready to move out at 9:00 AM.

 

Bring work gloves, a hard hat if you have one, safety glasses, full rain gear (you never know if you will need it), your lunch, and PLENTY of fluids to drink. 

 

If you plan to attend this work party, please reply to this email and tell me that you are coming and how many volunteers you are bringing with you.  I need an estimate of the number of volunteers so that Park staff can be sure to have enough tools for us all.  If you have a hard hat you will be wearing, please tell me that too.

 

 

Following the work party MRNPA volunteers are invited to assemble in the Longmire VIP campground (not the Cougar Rock campground) to relax and socialize, followed by a potluck dinner, and an evening spent sitting around the campfire.  It's a fun event, so plan on staying (at least for a little while) and getting to better know some of the volunteers you have been working with.  

 

Overnight camping is available both Friday night, August 10th, and Saturday night, August 11th at the Longmire VIP campground.  Camping is free for MRNPA volunteers. If you plan to camp either or both nights, please tell me the nights you intend to camp when you reply to this email telling me that you are coming to the work party.  I need to assure that we have sufficient tent sites reserved.

 

Sunday, the 12th, we will try to do a short hike together.

 

 

There are safety equipment requirements for all MRNPA trail work volunteers. (These rules apply to all trail workers.)  Anyone using an aggressive tool - like a Pulaski, ax, shovel, etc. - or anyone working near them -  is required to wear a hard hat and safety glasses.  People working with or near a less aggressive tools are not required (but will be encouraged) to wear a hard hat.   If you own a hard hat that you can wear, please bring it.   If you do not have a hard hat, we have hard hats that we loan for the day.

 

Wearing safety glasses is encouraged at all times. Not all safety glasses are comfortable for everyone and some will not fit over eye glasses.  Because of cleanliness issues, some people don't like wearing safety glasses that have been worn by other people.  For these reasons, and probably many others, please purchase (acquire, find, dig-up, whatever) a pair of personal safety glasses that you will wear.  The local hardware store is a good place to start shopping.  A serviceable pair or safety glasses will cost about $10.  And be advised that shatterproof eye glasses do not meet the requirement for safety glasses.  Safety glasses all have side protection which eye glasses do not.

 

John Titland
Volunteer Coordinator
Mount Rainier National Park Associates