Volunteer trainings set for Jack London, Sugarloaf parks

Volunteers help with trail maintenance, visitor centers, lead tours and even play piano at the two Sonoma Valley state parks.|

Two local volunteer groups, Jack London Park Partners and Team Sugarloaf, are essential to the continued operations of the two state parks in the Sonoma Valley, which escaped being closed during California’s budgetary crisis in 2012.

Which means recruiting high-quality volunteeers for Jack London and Sugarload state parks is a must.

“We need volunteers to work in the entrance stations and visitor centers, lead tours, work as docents in the museum and cottage, and a variety of other tasks,” said Susan St. Marie, volunteer manager at Jack London State Historic Park and coordinator for Sugarloaf Ridge State Park as well.

Among the other task that volunteers perform are driving golf carts, assisting with special events and helping with administrative/office duties. At Jack London, volunteers also play Charmian London’s 1901 Steinway grand piano for visitors on the weekends.

But it’s the trail maintenance and patrol duties that attract many volunteers to spend their time in the two Valley state parks, which receive no state funding but rely on volunteers for operation.

Annadel State Park in Santa Rosa is in a similar situation of requiring volunteers to fulfill its operations. All three lost significant state funding in the budget crunch of the post-2008 economy, but were “saved” by volunteer groups who took over much of the park operations and kept them open.

A series of training sessions are scheduled for the spring for prospective volunteers at all three state parks. The commitment is only four hours per month, and volunteers will receive a park pass for their service.

Trainings are specific to park and activity, and take place at the following times and locations:

• Saturday, Feb. 27 (9 a.m. to 1 p.m.) – Trail Patrol on horse, bike or foot. For all parks, Annadel, Jack London and Sugarloaf Ridge.

• Saturday, March 12 (9 a.m. to 1 p.m.) – Sugarloaf Ridge State Park

• Saturdays April 2, and April 16 (two-day training, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days) – Jack London State Historic Park

For more information, contact Susan St. Marie at Jack London State Park, 938-4827 or sstmarie@jacklondonpark.com. For Annadel volunteers other than Trail Patrol, contact Sarah Reid at sarah.reid@parks.ca.gov.

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