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Volunteers-In-Parks Award Winners
Volunteer Accessibility Achievement
Awards &
George B. Hartzog, Jr. Awards for Outstanding Volunteer Service
National Park Service (NPS) Deputy Director Steve Martin honored
recipients of the Volunteer Accessibility Achievement Award
and the George B. Hartzog, Jr. Awards for Outstanding Volunteer
Service at a Take Pride in America event held May 12, 2006
in Washington, DC.
"The National Park Service
is fortunate to have dedicated volunteers and devoted employees
who work hard to enhance the visitor experience at our national
parks," said Deputy Director Martin. "It is essential
that we remain dedicated to strengthening our volunteer program
and recognizing the efforts of these amazing individuals and
groups."
This year's Volunteer Accessibility Achievement Award is presented
to the Americorps Volunteers for their assistance to White
Sands National Monument in the construction of the new 900-foot
wheelchair-accessible Interdune Boardwalk.
The Interdune Boardwalk, designed by park staff, guides visitors
through a vegetated area between sand dunes to an overlook
that affords a panoramic view of the world's largest gypsum
sand dune field. Interpretive signs along the boardwalk explain
the plant and animal life of this Chihuahuan Desert ecosystem.
It is constructed of aluminum, which supports the deck and
handrails made of the recycled plastic lumber. The structure
is not tied to a fixed location, so it can be re-routed to
accommodate dune movement.
Dr. Donald Johnson is this year's recipient of the George
Hartzog Volunteer award. Dr. Johnson is a metallurgist and
has been a long-time volunteer with the NPS' Submerged Resources
Center in New Mexico. He has worked closely on significant
underwater archeological projects since 1998. His innovative
research on determining metal corrosion rates from analysis
of concretion is wholly innovative and provides a minimum-impact,
cost-effective methodology that will have wide use not only
throughout the NPS, but is applicable to historic iron and
steel shipwrecks worldwide.
The George Hartzog Volunteer Group award is presented to Lowell
Canalwaters Cleaners for the efforts of their more than 150
volunteers who contributed nearly 2,000 hours toward the organization's
first goal, which was to clean out the unsightly, unhealthy
rafts of trash and refuse that stagnate especially at locks
and gates at Lowell National Historical Park. The new non-profit
volunteer organization used practical ingenuity in devising
their own hand-made tools to complete the task. The clean-ups
were partly funded by $2,200 in NPS Park Steward Event grants.
This year's recipient of the George Hartzog Park VIP Program
Award is the C&O Canal National Historical Park VIP Program.
Volunteers donate their time in a variety of ways from the
park's highly successful bike patrol program to visitor center
information assistants, living history interpreters, Civil
War re-enactors, docents at historic lockhouses, trail maintenance
volunteers, receptionists at headquarters, and level walkers
who walk the towpath and update park staff on conditions.
In 2005, volunteers contributed 46,536 hours, and the number
of volunteers increased 14.6 percent from 2,396 to 2,746.
The George B. Hartzog, Jr. Awards for Outstanding Volunteer
Service were established in 2002 to recognize the commitment
of the Service's most outstanding volunteers. During his nine
years as Director of the NPS (1964-1972), George Hartzog created
the Volunteers-In-Parks (VIP) Program, which was born of the
need for more qualified personnel at a time when national
parks were becoming increasingly popular. The National Accessibility
Achievement Award Program was initiated in the fall of 1998.
The purpose of the program is to recognize outstanding accomplishments
that result in greater opportunities for visitors with disabilities
to enjoy national parks.
The National Park Service, an Interior Department agency,
manages the National Park System, which comprises 390 areas
covering more than 84 million acres. Through a variety of
programs, the NPS (www.nps.gov) cooperates with partners to
extend the benefits of natural and cultural resources, conservation
and outdoor recreation throughout this country and the world.
Take Pride in America is a national partnership that aims
to seek, support and recognize volunteers who work to improve
our public parks, forests, grasslands, reservoirs and wildlife
refuges, as well as our cultural and historic sites, local
playgrounds and other recreation areas. With 100 Charter Partners,
Take Pride involves federal, state and local governments,
conservation, youth and recreation groups, and top national
corporations and organizations. For more information visit:
www.TakePride.gov.
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