Volunteering

Volunteers are absolutely essential to operation of the St Marks National Wildlife Refuge. In 2012, we recorded over 10,000 volunteer hours worth an estimated $200,000, and many more volunteer hours went unreported.

A wide range of opportunities for helping exist. Some occur daily or weekly, like involvement in the Visitor Center or maintenance, while other opportunities are sporadic, such as helping to out on annual festiivals or special events. Here are just a few examples:

Never assume that you don't have the background, experience or skills to volunteer at the Refuge. Our volunteers come from all sorts of backgrounds. Meet a few of our stars.

Helen Dickinson (at right) has been a front-desk volunteer in The Visitor Center for 4 years. She fell in love with the Refuge after moving to Tallahassee from Sarasota, and wanted to help. Learning her job was easy, thanks especially to expert mentoring by Carol Phillips (at left), herself a volunteer at the Visitor Center. Carol brings much experience to helping volunteers, as she worked for 32 years with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in Atlanta. Shadowing more experienced people is a normal part of volunteer training at the Refuge.

Kenneth Williams grew up in this area, and knew the Refuge even as a youth. He brought his wife, Janice, to the Refuge on their first date, so it is perfectly natural that they now volunteer here after running a hardware store for 21 years. Kenneth knew he wanted to spend lots of time out-of-doors once he retired, and he is an avid fly fisherman. But he also enjoys his time keeping our Refuge clean of trash and, as you can see, his commitment even extends to stormy days! Kenneth is also on the team that maintains our 50 miles of National Scenic Trail during the Winter.

Sara Kittendorf became a volunteer at the Refuge about four years ago, through her parents who already were involved. Today she is a regular face among the volunteers, and is known for always being pleasant and eager to help. She has been involved in a 'Citizen Science' project surveying samples from Refuge waters for toxic algae, as a history docent dressed in period costume on Lighthouse Day, as a teaching assistant with children participating in Environmental Education programs, and in numerous other ways. She especially enjoys teaching the younger children.

When Carol Miller was young, she took an interest inventory that told her she should be a forest ranger. Although she ended up working as a school librarian, she found that job a good fit for her 'generalist' leanings. After retiring and moving to Monticello, she learned about the Photo Club and volunteering at the Refuge and welcomed the chance to teach environ-mental topics. She is now one of the key assistants to the Environmental Education Ranger, and her visits to the Refuge also enable her to pursue her passions of birding and photography.

Mike Urbaniak spent some time fishing and crabbing on the Refuge in the 1970s, but then moved away to work in wholesale and retail jobs around the southeast. He returned to Wakulla County upon retiring, and was attracted back to the Refuge and volunteering through a photo class given by Ranger Barney Parker. Mike says it makes him feel good to volunteer, and he looks forward to the day each week when he is scheduled to work in the Nature Store. The Store has certainly benefitted from his almost 40 years merchandising experience.

For more information about volunteer opportunities, check the Refuge Volunteer Program web page; contact the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge Volunteer Coordinator at (850) 925-6121, Tuesday - Friday, 9am - 4pm; or print the volunteer application and mail it to St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge, Volunteer Coordinator, PO Box 68, St. Marks, FL 32355.

Volunteers use the Record of Volunteer Hours form to report their hours to the Refuge management. This information is used to show matching contributions in grant proposals and affects Refuge funding in other ways.