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Volunteer
Opportunities for February 2016
Maple Sugarin at the Prairie – March 5th:
Maple season is almost here! We’ll be tapping trees soon, and the
sap will be flowing into the Sugar Shack. We NEED YOUR help for
this Saturday event. We’ll need assistance both for the Friends’
Waffle Breakfast and also for operating the Sugar Shack, Log House, and
Blacksmith Shop. Below is a list of options to assist with.
Please call/email Robb or stop by the Nature Center to sign up.
• Waffle Breakfast: 7am-1pm (most shift hours are 4-6 hours)
• Greeter; 50/50 Raffle; Tickets; Sausage Griller; Waffle Bakers;
Batter Mixers; Runners (transport food to dining area); Servers;
Beverages; Dining Room Clean-up; Kitchen Wash; Floaters; Clean-up Crew
• Maple Tours / Park Grounds: 6am-5pm (most shift hours are 4-6
hours)
• Boil Sap in Sugar Shack; Reception Desk / Gift Shop; Bake Sale;
Blacksmith Shop (period attire required); Log House (period attire
required); Volunteer Trail Educators (assist w/ tours)
• Sugar Shack Crew: Boiling dates TBD
• Once the sap starts to flow, we will need to boil. Contact Robb
with your preferred boiling day(s) and hour(s)
Friends of the Park Meeting
MEET THE NEW VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR, KATHI MCQUEEN
Tuesday, February 2 - 6:30PM
All Volunteers & Friends are invited to join us as we welcome new
Volunteer Coordinator, Kathi McQueen, to the Park District
family. During this meet and greet, we’ll learn a little about
Kathi and her hopes for the future of Darke County Parks’ volunteer
corps. *Reminder: Friends’ Membership Fees are due.
Volunteer Gathering / Learning Workshops:
Starting in 2016, we will offer exciting gatherings and trainings each
month. These are designed to allow you to grow your skills, go on
wildflower walks, explore near-by parks and nature centers, help with
group projects, and time to kick back and have a visit with fellow
volunteers! These are designed to be fun, informal sessions for
volunteers only, so we can enjoy nature together. We hope you see
this as a small reward for all that you give to us. Thank you.
Ps: Have a subject you’d like to discuss? Let me know and
we’ll get it on the schedule!
• Women’s Cap Making Workshop – Feb. 11 at 9am
• Ladies, are you handy with a sewing machine and willing to do some
threadwork for us? If you volunteer in the Log House join us for
an afternoon, and leave with your own period correct day cap.
Participants will have their choice of three different cap styles. For
each cap, please bring 1⁄2 yard of light 100% cotton or 100% linen
fabric. If possible bring a sewing machine, related tools, iron, or
ironing board. Hopefully we will have enough people to make caps
assembly line style, therefore sewing skills are recommended but are by
no means required. We always need people to cut and press. See Hannah
with any questions.
• Maple Sugarin’ – February 8 at 10am
A. Interested in helping to run the Sugar
Shack? Please join us for this informative training on how the
evaporator is run, what we look for when tapping maple trees and
everything in between. By the end of this session, you will be
certified to assist with running the sugar shack during our school,
public, and other boiling dates for this maple season!
B. Are you a Volunteer Trail Educator (VTE)
with our school groups? Please join us to refresh your
trail-leading skills as we prepare for the coming maple programming
season. We’ll go over each station, the science, and the lore of
this program in time for school programs and Maple Day itself on March
5th. If you are not a VTE currently, but would like to learn more
about what this team of volunteers does, please join us!
• Nestbox Monitoring Citizen Science – Feb. 27 at 2pm
• We begin a new season of nestbox monitoring throughout the
District. This year we hope to increase nestbox sites, install
predator guards, and increase brood success rate! We need
volunteers to monitor the boxes, eggs, and hatchlings throughout the
breeding season. Come join the fun!
Volunteer Trail Educators Needed -- Maple Schools start February 16th
Hey VTEs! We have several school groups signed up to visit the
Nature Center and walk the Maple Sugarin’ Trail. Can you help us
lead and/or caboose groups to keep our numbers-per-group smaller?
Don’t miss the refresher training on Feb 8th!
• February Maple Schools Dates:
• 16th – Homeschool group (various ages) (10a-12p)
• 17 & 18 –Woodland Primary (10a-12p)
• March Maple School Dates:
• 2nd – Franklin Monroe 2nd (10a-12p)
Vegetables Prepped by Feb 18 – Talk to Mandy
• Can you purchase, wash, and prep a selection of vegetables?
Mandy has an offsite program all about plants for a local kindergarten
and would like some assistance here. Talk with her for details.
Hand Drawn Graphs by Feb 1 – Talk to Mandy
• Can you illustrate large poster-sized graphs? Mandy needs some
for an upcoming school group. Talk with her for more details.
Trail and Park Maintenance Tasks:
Click here to contact Wayne to be added to the “Call List” for any of
the below tasks as they are weather dependent.
• Maple Sugarin’ Prep Cleaning
• Time and Date TBD – Prior to maple tapping, we need to get the
buckets and evaporator pans cleaned out from the year’s storage.
• Shawnee Prairie Boardwalk renovation
• Time and Date TBD – Several sections of the boardwalk at Shawnee
Prairie were damaged recently in the flooding. We are looking at
options, but we will need a crew to assist with the removal and/or
modification of all or sections of the boardwalk.
• Final Cut on the Levee at Chestnut St. Marsh
• Prairie Tree Removal
• Time and Date TBD – As we strive to maintain prairie habitat, we will
remove non-prairie tree species in preparation for burn season.
Bring-Your-Own-Chainsaw (BYOC).
• Tecumseh Trail Phase 4 Trail Clearing
• Time and Date TBD – As we prepare for the coming work on Phase 4 of
the Tecumseh Trail bike path, we will work on clearing the trail
locations.
Just For Fun:
• Early Morning Discovery Hikes – Tuesdays, 9am @ Shawnee Prairie
• Join a naturalist at 9AM on Tuesday mornings and hike the trails to
see what we can find in the winter landscape. After our hike,
we’ll head into the Nature Center and count the birds at the feeders
for Project FeederWatch.
• Full Snow Moon Hike – Monday, February 22 @ Worth Family Nature
Preserve
• Join a naturalist at 6pm at Worth Family Nature Preserve for a hike
under the night sky, illuminated by the full moon. Meet at Worth
and dress for the weather. Flashlights may be useful.
• Leaping Towards Spring Hike – Monday, February 29th @ Alice Bish Park
• Join a naturalist at 12pm at Alice Bish Park for a quick winter’s
hike as we search for early signs of spring on this Leap Day.
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