Thanking Our Amazing Volunteers!
One of the Habitat Authority’s greatest strengths is our team of volunteers. These are people locally and regionally who take action to help inspire stewardship and help keep the trails clean and safe. Whether it involves leading educational school hikes, picking up litter, leading monthly themed hikes for trail enthusiasts, tabling at events, social media postings or helping with our wildlife camera study, these individuals make a difference every day for the Preserve.
The Habitat Authority has more than 50 active volunteers and in fiscal year 2018-19 alone, over 2,696 volunteer hours were recorded equivalent to $80,745.20 worth of value to the Authority. Since record keeping began in fiscal year 2010-11, approximately 22,542 volunteer hours have been tracked, equating to approximately $614,754 in value to the Authority’s efforts.
Also, in the last fiscal year 2018-19, the Habitat Authority provided outreach for approximately 2,378 participants in 16 school programs reaching 1,966 students (ranging from kindergarten through 6th grades), 93 public hikes, several other outreach events, and four Jr. Ranger programs reaching 353 students (ranging from 1st through 5th grades). Furthermore, the volunteers did much more by acting as the rangers’ eyes and ears with targeted trail watching and assisted cleaning up bags and bags of litter and waste left on the trails.
During the coronavirus pandemic and trail closures, despite their own personal and professional challenges, they are staying connected with our hard-working staff via Zoom with dedication and determination, and ready to hit the ground running when the Preserve reopens.
If you’re willing we could use your help, too. There are several ways to volunteer with the Habitat Authority—from being a Docent, Trail Watching or a general volunteer.
During National Volunteer Week this week, we celebrate the amazing individuals who have chosen to support the Preserve, and we applaud their spirit and drive to promote stewardship of the environment. If you are interested in volunteering for the Habitat Authority, please sign up here. We cannot do this important work without you.
In gratitude,
Andrea Gullo
Executive Direct
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