Project Leader Glenn Carowan brings volunteers up to date at annual training at Blackwater refuge headquarters. Credit: USFWS/Maggie Briggs

Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge held its annual Volunteer Up-Date Training for new and experienced Volunteers on August 6, 2005 from 8:30am to 4:00pm at the Blackwater headquarters conference room. Six staff members, the Friends of Blackwater President Ron Tillier, and Tourism Director Natalie Chabot brought the Volunteers up-to-date on the various Refuge management programs and tourism in Dorchester County through slides, talks, and various media. The Volunteers were informed of the tremendous number of projects and changes going on at the Refuge, so they can be knowledgeable on the front line at the Visitor Center desk to provide correct information to the public. Often, these are the only people that the public see. They do a great job providing them with a good experience at Blackwater NWR. Coffee, donuts, bagels, etc.were provided at 8:30am. A luncheon was also provided by the Friends of Blackwater at noon. The Volunteers were also given a tour of the not yet finished Visitor Center.

A second training was held on Saturday, August 27, 2005. This training consisted of a van (15 passenger) tour of the Refuge for all Volunteers, but especially for any Volunteers who hadn’t had the tour before. The tour included most of the Refuge, giving the Volunteers a look at the size of the Refuge, the hunt areas, and other areas not normally seen by the Volunteers or the public. They brought a packed lunch and drinks to eat at a place along the way.

With the return to the Visitor Center October 1, the day of the Refuge Open House, all the Volunteers needed a training in policies and procedures for operating the Visitor Center information desk and Friends of Blackwater Eagle’s Nest Book Store. Those who had not had Volunteer training received it for the first time, while the rest needed to know where to find everything in the newly remodeled Visitor Center. Five separate training days and time periods covered different days of the week and times of the day (morning, afternoon, and evening) to enable 60 of the 100 Volunteers to attend. There were 20 new Volunteers. A number of those who could not attend, were trained individually on the job with help from experienced Volunteers.