Semi-monthly volunteer enewsletter

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June 2015

> IN THIS ISSUE: National Trails Day, host vacancy, volunteer hours report

National Trails Day June 6!

Take part in volunteering for the day or visit www.NationalTrailsDay.org to find other events in your area!

Here are some volunteer events for National Trails Day in our Parks:

9:30 AM to 1:30 PM   Chattahoochee Bend State Park - Newnan, GA

Volunteer a part of your day to help clean up the Flat Rock Trail around our spectacular and unique Granite Outcrops. Bring sturdy shoes, water, sunscreen, snacks, and gloves if you have them. 770-254-7271.

10 AM to 1 PM  Chief Vann House Historic Site - Chatsworth, GA

The Chief Vann House is a certified site along on the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail. In observance of National Trails Day, volunteers can help spruce up the site along Vann's Spring Interpretive Trail. Come enjoy the beauty of our spring house ruins & wetlands habitat while learning about this chapter in Cherokee & American history. 706-695-2598.           

9 AM to 12 PM Fort Mountain State Park - Chatsworth, GA

Celebrate National Trails Day by volunteering to pick-up trash, trim trees and do general trail maintenance along the stone wall, fire watch tower and overlook trail. 706-422-1932.

9 AM   Indian Springs State Park - Flovilla, GA

Join fellow volunteers in trail clean up and maintenance projects along the 3/4 mile nature trail or the 3 mile multi-use trail. Projects may include gathering trash and debris from the trails, removing low tree limbs, and general trail beautification. 770-504-2277.

10 AM to 1 PM New Echota Historic Site - Calhoun, GA

As a certified site along on theTrail of Tears National Historic Trail, we'll be working on sprucing up the landscaping at New Echota and cleaning up New Town Creek Nature Trail. Come learn about this significant part of Cherokee, Georgia and United States history as we work to improve part of this important National Historic Trail. 706-624-1321.

10 AM to 1 PM Sweetwater Creek State Park - Lithia Springs, GA

Join park staff, Friends of Sweetwater Creek State Park, and other volunteers, as we work on cleaning up and maintaining Sweetwater's beautiful trails. Gloves, hand tools, and water recommended. 770-732-5871.

9 AM to 12 PM Tugaloo State Park - Lavonia, GA

Join fellow volunteers in trail clean up and maintenance projects along the various nature trails along Lake Hartwell. Projects may include gathering trash and debris from the trails, removing low tree limbs, and general trail beautification. 706-356-4362.

Watch this video from American Hiking Society about National Trails Day

Summer 2015 Host Vacancy - APPLY TODAY!

Volunteer Hours April and May 2015

Logging Your Hours

We rolled out the new volunteer hour tracking option in December 2014. It took a little longer than expected but now the 2014 hours have been transferred over and all incentives earned since then have been mailed out. 

Here is the website for more information on Volunteer Hours and how incentives are earned.

You can see how many hours you have recorded or were transferred over from 2014 by logging into your time sheet.http://www.trackitforward.com/site/georgia-state-park-and-historic-sites-volunteers-and-hosts/timesheet

Using this neat Stats feature, you can see where you are in the overall documentation of hours for volunteers all over the state: https://www.trackitforward.com/site/georgia-state-park-and-historic-sites-volunteers-and-hosts/stats

Thank you for your patience as we transitioned to this new tracking software. Your information is now accessible by you, park managers as well as myself. However, it is completely private and not accessible by anyone outside of Georgia State Parks and Historic Sites. 

Volunteers Defined: We love and need them all!

Community Volunteers-Help on a day-to-day basis at a Park as they are available. Our community volunteers help with leading hikes, helping with maintenance, assisting with the visitor or retail center, guide new visitors to park activities and locations. Those volunteering more than once per month or planning to volunteer more than 20 hours per year need to update registration.

Hosts (Campground, Yurt, Maintenance, Golf, Train)-Stay in their personal RV at designated free Host Site for 2-6 months in exchange for a minimum of 24 hours of volunteer work.  Host duties include: visitor assistance and maintenance.  All hosts are required to update registration to still be considered for hosting.

Group Volunteers-This is for Churches, Corporations, Scouts and Universities who want a tailor-made project that will strengthen the group as individuals as well as a team morale while assisting Georgia State Parks. Only the group leader will need to be registered in our system.

How are we doing?

In order for Georgia State Parks to continue to thrive and grow, even in these lean budget times, we need to get feedback from those that utilize our services and Parks. As Volunteers and Hosts, you have the same rights and anonymity in park observations and feedback as our Park Staff.  Please use this quick survey form to share your experiences with us.

Thanks for reading!  Please feel free to share with others.  If you need to contact me, Georgia State Parks Volunteer Coordinator: nyleta.wallace@dnr.ga.gov

As always, thank you for being a steward for Georgia State Parks!

Have a great day!

Helpful Links:

eNews Archived - http://gastateparks.org/volunteer/news

Log your Hours - http://gastateparks.org/volunteer/hours

See your recorded hours - http://www.trackitforward.com/site/georgia-state-park-and-historic-sites-volunteers-and-hosts/timesheet

Volunteer Hour Stats - https://www.trackitforward.com/site/georgia-state-park-and-historic-sites-volunteers-and-hosts/stats