New Volunteers Needed

Date: February 2007 - The winter season is almost over and many of our faithful volunteers who staff the Visitor Information Station and help with Canyon cleanup will soon head back to their summer homes. That puts those of us remaining in a bind to get all the work done. This is the time when we are hoping that members who have not volunteered in the past, or those who will be around during the summer/fall months, will step up and take over for our winter group.

VISITOR INFORMATION STATION STAFF - We staff the station on Saturdays and Sundays in two shifts, noon to 2 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. We greet visitors to the Canyon, hand out brochures, and give out important information and answer questions. We ask our volunteers to give us two hours a month. You can contact Walt Lamb at 625-1256 and schedule a time.

CLEANUP IN THE CANYON - We meet every Monday at 7:30 a.m. at the Madera Picnic area and disburse to all the picnic grounds to pick up any trash that was not put into the trash bins. We also empty the charcoal coals from the grills and put the buckets out for pickup by the Forest Service. We also refill the brochure and hiking map boxes with literature. Most of the time we are done in one hour. It's a beautiful time to be in the Canyon. Call Jan and Carl Vail at 625-5488 (summer) or Connie McGinnis at 399-3053 (winter) for more information, or just come on up on Monday and join us.

EDUCATION DOCENTS - The spring school walks for 4th graders begin in March and continue through early May. Time spent in the Canyon is from 9 a.m. to noon on Thursdays. We know everyone can't come every Thursday so it is important to have enough Docents to fill in the gaps. Even though training has already been done for this year, anyone interested in participating in the education program this spring or next year should give Doug Moore a call at 682-0459 and come out and join in the walks and learn as you go.

We hope that many of you will find the time especially during the slower summer months to give an hour or two a month to helping the Friends of Madera Canyon. Please feel free to contact any member of the board if you have any questions concerning volunteering.

NEW PICNIC GRILLS

Many of the grills in the picnic areas of Madera Canyon are old and the bottoms have started to rust. The holes forming in the grill bottoms can allow hot ashes to drop to the ground and create a potential fire hazard. The Friends asked that the Forest Service replace the rusted grills if possible. The Forest Service was able to replace eight grills but 12 were needed. We were fortunate to receive donations from Friends' supporters for the remaining four grills.

We offer special thanks to the following for their purchase of new grills. Each contributed $200 to pay for one grill.

•Mohn & Crowley PLLC Realtors with Long Realty

•D. R. Crowley Construction

•Susan and James Sidd

•Jeannette Oatman

 

THANK YOU TO ALL OUR VOLUNTEERS!

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