There is a pressing need for volunteers with special skills

TALLAHASSEE, FL, UNITED STATES, August 13, 2020 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Florida State Parks Foundation is working with the Florida Park Service to help fill more than 150 special volunteer positions ranging from tractor operators to museum docents and campground hosts to exotic plant technicians.

Florida’s 175 award winning state parks and trails cover almost 800,000 acres and include thousands of miles of trails and hundreds of buildings, many of them historic. Maintaining them is a full-time job for staff supported by an army of 20,000 volunteers.

“However, with so many fabulous parks and so much property to maintain, there is always work to be done and a pressing need for volunteers with special skills,” said Gil Ziffer, President of the Florida State Parks Foundation.

“We are supporting the Florida Park Service by trying to fill 150 key volunteer positions at parks across the state. These range from administrative assistants and toll both collectors, fence line and trail maintenance to gardeners and roving trail interpreters, and more”, he said.

“Volunteering is a great way of giving back to the community and volunteering in a Florida state park helps support and maintain the acknowledged best state park system in the nation,” said Foundation CEO Julia Gill Woodward.

Regular park volunteers can be individuals, families and groups, and opportunities range from greeting visitors, conducting tours, removing exotic plants, or maintaining a beach, waterway, or trail. RV and camper owners can also serve as volunteer campground hosts or as park residents for maintenance. A campsite is provided. Park residents commit to at least 20 hours per week of service.

Anyone interested in volunteering should contact their local park or visit the Florida Park Service website at www.floridastateparks.org.

The Foundation, founded in 1993 as Friends of Florida State Parks and renamed in 2018, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation whose mission is to support and help sustain the Florida Park Service, its 175 award-winning parks and trails, local Friends groups and more than 20,000 park volunteers.

It does this through programs that preserve and protect state parks, educate visitors about the value of state parks, encourage community engagement and active use of state parks, and advocacy.

The volunteer Board of Directors represent private and public sectors as well as local and statewide interests.

Julia Gill Woodward
Florida State Parks Foundation
+ 18505598914
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