Regularly scheduled workdays for volunteers have returned to Whitfield. During a volunteer orientation meeting on November 15, the group decided to schedule the first workday for Saturday, Nov. 27. Seven volunteers waddled to Whitfield on that day (recall that Thanksgiving was the previous Thursday and all admitted to an excess of calorie intake). We promptly received our assignment from Conservation Program Manager Johnny Chavez and worked for 3 hours removing invasive Russian Olive plants from the middle basin behind the visitor center and pruning dead limbs from the trees and bushes bordering the parking area.
Seven intrepid volunteers, some of whom were different from those who worked the previous week, again offered their services the day of the Friends of Whitfield annual board meeting and Whitfield birthday celebration. On this day chairs were arranged and removed for the crowd of 80, roadside trash cleaning was accomplished, the registration and raffle table was manned, the Friends information table was set up, and the event flowed smoothly in no small measure due to their presence.
The next workdays will be Saturday, December 18, and Saturday, January 15 from 9:00 – 12:00. If you don’t have the time or endurance to complete 3 hours, any amount of time is greatly appreciated. While the work to date has been on the physical side there are volunteer opportunities that would be less strenuous. The visitor center is in need of ambassadors. The role of this person is to greet the public from the front desk in the visitor center. They would answer simple questions and in so doing help paid staff from being interrupted from their work.
A volunteer orientation meeting will be held on Saturday, January 8 from 9:00 – 10:00 when we’ll answer questions about volunteering at Whitfield, describe the types of work we do to help the staff maintain the conservation area, and solicit input regarding what folks want their volunteer experience to look like..
Frank Mazza, Friends of Whitfield Volunteer Coordinator