Each month we will be highlighting various opportunities, events, and notable volunteers. Check out our website, and call or email us for any questions you may have. We look forward to seeing you at Indiana Dunes National Park!

Volunteer Spotlight 

two men in volunteer jackets smile in front of the Glenwood Dunes Trailhead

Cal and Wayne Aardsma

Brothers Calvin and Wayne Aardsma may be new volunteers, but they have made quite the impact in their few months here at the park! Both regularly volunteer with the Trail Crew and have helped on projects including installing fence at West Beach and preparing Glenwood Dunes for cross-country ski season. Thanks for being such superstars, Cal and Wayne!

photo of the month

a brown bush is encased in a layer of clear ice, frozen spray from Lake Michigan, featured behind the plant

The Dunes are known as a summer destination, but anyone who limits their visits to the warm months misses out on a world of wonder. Community Volunteer Ambassador Sarah Sherwood captured this frosty plant back in February 2020 when she noticed that icy waves in Beverly Shores had encrusted beach brush in frozen spray, creating a ghostly shell around its bare branches. As the weather cools and Lake Michigan solidifies, remember to keep your exploration onshore as shelf ice is can be extremely dangerous!

CHEERS TO YOU!

a mock-up of custom pint glasses with the VIP logo on one side and the Friends of Indiana Dunes logo on the other

 

Happy holidays, everyone! The volunteer office and the Friends of Indiana Dunes would like to say thank you. Your compassion, support, and positivity have been such a bright light to everyone over these last few challenging years. We haven't had the chance to formally gather at our annual appreciation dinner and express our gratitude. So, we thought we would pick up a little something for you.

You can stop by the volunteer office on Wednesdays from 9am-3pm to pick up your special pint glass after the first of the New Year. If you can't make that time, feel free to email us at parkconnection@gmail.com to make other arrangements.

Thank you for being the most amazing volunteers!

Twilight Parade Shoutout

four men, two of them NPS rangers, stand in front of a trailer decorated with Christmas lights; a group of women and children are in the trailer
two girls dressed as elves laugh and hold cocoa
two young girls in Christmas gear smile at the camera
an NPS ranger drives a tractor pulling a Christmas-decorated trailer
Thank you to all of the volunteers who joined Park Connection at the Twilight Parade! On Saturday, November 27th, the volunteer office joined Chesterton's Christmas Parade to celebrate the holiday season and another successful year of service in the park. We enjoyed sweet treats, beautiful lights, and joy and merriment for all. Happy holidays, team!

Photos by Paul Kemiel.

upcoming opportunities

a historic red and yellow East Troy railroad car

East Troy Seeks A Few Great Volunteers

Help Keep the Legacy Alive at The East Troy Electric Railroad!

We're looking for a few good men and women to join our family of volunteers at the East Troy Electric Railroad. No experience necessary - we will "train" you. We're just looking for people with a great attitude and a desire to have some fun while working to preserve the history of rail service in the area.

East Troy's volunteers do a little bit of everything including: restoring and maintaining railroad and trolley cars; servicing and maintaining the track and electric lines; motormen operating the cars; conductors assisting with operating cars and giving interpretive programs; serving staff, including bartenders, on the dinner and brunch trains; decorating the depot and cars for special events like the Bunny and Christmas Trains; working in the depot greeting visitors and selling tickets and gift shop items; gardening at the depot; maintaining the landscape along the track; and photographing the trains and special events.

If this opportunity sounds like a good fit for you, please reach out to Operations Manager Jim Feyerherm at jimf@easttroyrr.org or 262-642-3263. The East Troy Railroad Museum is located at 2002 Church Street in East Troy, WI.

chickens wander around their coop at Chellberg Farm

Chicken Volunteers Needed

Are you an animal person? Do you like farm-fresh eggs? Then we have the volunteer position for you! The Farm and Garden Crew is seeking another volunteer to help manage the chickens at Chellberg Farm. Duties would include replenishing their food and water and making sure their coop is in good condition on a weekly basis. For more information or to express interest, please email parkconnection@gmail.com.
 

a woman in a red hard hat carries a wooden pole across the beach

Drop-In Volunteering

Saturday, December 18th, 9am-12pm
Meet at Park Connection Office


Drop-in volunteering provides hassle-free opportunities at Indiana Dunes! With no previous sign-up or experience required, drop-ins are perfect for those with just a few hours of free time. Events are held on the third Saturday of the month at the Park Connection Office (618 N. Mineral Springs Rd.). Projects vary by date and season, but can include working with invasive species, and land and building restoration

a man in a volunteer jacket picks pieces of trash up from the sand on the beach

Trash Trekkers

Every day 8:30am-4:30pm
Dorothy Buell Memorial Visitor Center


Trash Trekkers is an easy way to get involved at the park at your convenience! Simply check in at the Visitor Center on Route 49 to receive trash bags, then choose from one of our many beaches or hiking trails to collect trash. Visitors are awarded with a free, reusable water bottle for filling up their bags. Together, we can keep our beaches beautiful! 

Park Happenings

photos of four birds as well as a birder with binoculars; header says "Christmas Bird Count"

Christmas Bird Count

Wednesday, December 29th, 9am-4pm

Join tens of thousands of volunteers throughout the Americas for an adventure this Christmas season! Families, amateur birders, and scientists alike arm themselves with binoculars, bird guides, and checklists and go out on an annual mission to count the world's bird populations.

Participants need to register in advance with Ranger Christy Gerlach at 219-395-1885 or christine_gerlach@nps.gov. The count circle is Indiana Dunes National Park West (INDW). The exact location of the circle can be seen by visiting Audubon's website.

a man in a volunteer uniform kneels at a large, black, hanging kettle, where he demonstrates colonial sugaring methods

Winter Interpretive Programs

Indiana Dunes' interpretive rangers are continuing limited public programming throughout the winter. From art in the park to local history, there's something for everyone - including bilingual programming for Spanish speakers! See the park's event calendar for the full schedule of guided hikes, interactive events, and presentations.

what's new
with the Friends 

Friends of Indiana Dunes logo

The Friends of Indiana Dunes, Inc. sponsor invaluable educational and recreational opportunities.  Since 1982, our mission is: “to enhance and foster understanding, appreciation, and enjoyment of the Indiana Dunes through financial and volunteer support of the National and State Parks as well as the Dunes Learning Center."

Approximately 30 runners braved cold and windy elements on Sunday, November 28 for the annual Turkey Toss 5K at Hawthorne Park in Porter. Several Friends of Indiana Dunes Board Members joined our friends at Crazy Legs Race Series by volunteering in many capacities along the course and inside the community building.

Friends of Indiana Dunes wants to thank Crazy Legs Race Series for allowing us to benefit from this event, as a portion of the proceeds were donated to help Friends enhance visitor enjoyment of both the Indiana Dunes National and State Parks and the Dunes Learning Center.

A huge THANK YOU to Crazy Legs Race Series and all of Sunday's runners for their generous donation!

a bowler tries to knock down plastic bowling pins in a parking lot

The Turkey Toss 5K racecourse followed paved streets and bike trails and featured "Turkey Bowling" using a four-pound frozen turkey. Six lucky raffle winners for the chance to bowl to win prizes. Each "bowler" had two shots to knock down all the plastic bowling pins.

Friends of Indiana Dunes want to extend their appreciation to all who donated to us for one of this year's Chellberg Turkeys.

Please have a happy and safe holiday season!

Interested in helping? Contact Friends Chair Angel Goins at 219-707-3617. Hours donated on Friends projects that benefit the National Park count as VIP hours.

www.friendsofindianadunes.com

Virtual Enrichment 

Are you bored at home, missing the excitement of serving the park? Never fear, you can volunteer without ever leaving your computer! Below is a list of free trainings that may help you prepare to get going when we reopen -- or just stimulate your mind! Time spent on training DOES count for volunteer hours, so make sure to include it on your monthly hours report.
Trail Riding 101
Equine professionals created this course to prepare riders to make informed decisions when riding horses on trails. This 3-5 hour course will prepare you to take on Indiana Dunes' riding trails like a pro!
 
 Find course here.
Foundations of Interpretation
This introductory course provides the philosophical groundwork for why we do interpretation, what interpretation is, and how interpretation works form personal connections between the meanings of the resources and the interests of the audience.

Earn certificate issued by the Eppley Institute for Parks and Public Lands, Indiana University

 Find course here.
Leave No Trace Online Awareness Course
This brief course will provide you with a better understanding of recreation-related impacts, the Seven Principles and how Leave No Trace skills and ethics can help protect the outdoor places we love.

Earn Leave No Trace certificate

Find course here.
Trail Safe!
This program is a unique safety training program designed specifically for National Park Service (NPS) Trail Volunteers, but is useful to everyone! It's based upon NPS Operational Leadership Training, where the Human Factor of safety is explored. Trail Safe! captures the core learning objectives of the 16-hour Operational Leadership course while allowing volunteers to learn from their homes online.

Earn Trail Safe! certificate, SPE/GAR card, and pin

 Find course here.
Introduction to the National Park Service
Learn about the ideas that formed and later transformed the National Park Service (NPS), the people who generated those ideas, and the laws that continue to shape the NPS today.

Earn certificate issued by the Eppley Institute for Parks and Public Lands, Indiana University

Find course here.
Fire Extinguisher Training
National Park Service employees are required to complete annual fire extinguisher training. It's important to knowing how and when to operate an extinguisher, whether you are volunteering at the park or not!

Find course here.

Out of Office 12/22, 12/29

The Park Connection office will likely be closed on Wednesdays 12/22 and 12/29 as Sarah will be home with her family for the holidays. Drop by another Wednesday or send an email with any questions or concerns. Thanks for your patience!

Administration  

We are working hard to restructure and update our database, but we need your help. Please take a brief moment to review these tasks:

1. If your contact information, address, or emergency contact has changed since you were onboarded as a volunteer, please fill out and sign a new Volunteer Service Agreement and email it to parkconnection@gmail.com.

2. We rely on your feedback to be the best supervisors we can be. If you have suggestions or comments about your volunteering experience, please respond to this brief survey and send it to Volunteer Program Manager Jim Whitenack at james_whitenack@nps.gov.

3. The park's resource guide has been updated for 2021 and contains tons of valuable information about the park. Feel free to review it for background on the park's purpose, history, ecology, and more!
Please don't forget to turn in your times monthly to parkconnection@gmail.com.
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