Programs

The Friends of Willapa NWR are active in many areas including environmental education (for both adults and youth!), restoration efforts, interpretation, and community outreach. Friends members also participate in quarterly activities including a semi-annual barge trip and hike on Long Island and plant identification hikes on the Refuge.

Volunteer Corner
The Friends are always looking for more volunteers interested in helping with programs. Last year, Friends members volunteered the equivilant number of hours as one full-time refuge employee!

Volunteering adds to a sense of personal ownership in the Refuge System. And while that sense of ownership benefits the refuges and all the plants and animals that reside or migrate there, a personal connection with a refuge benefits volunteers too. Volunteers are awarded an Interagency Volunteer Pass after accruing 500 volunteer hours. This pass allows volunteers free entry to federal lands that charge fees, for one year. Volunteering is a wonderful opportunity to spread the word about the mission and importance of the Refuge.

Summer 2010 Volunteer Activities
Come one, come all! Schedule now to participate in various Refuge support activities that need your helping hands (and for some projects, your strong backs). While we can’t guarantee perfect weather for these workdates, we cam certainly promise a fun time!

Please e-mail or call Kelly Rupp (volunteer@friendsofwillaparefuge.org or 360-665-0115) with questions or to RSVP for any program below. In advance of each activity, we’ll post a general invitation to everyone on our Friends e-mail list and Facebook page (with meeting locations and time schedules), but encourage everyone now to check their calendars and plan to join us! We’ve got a full summer slate of volunteer activities:

First Saturday of Each Month during the Summer
Volunteer Days on the refuge. Details are sent out to the Friends e-mail list or e-mail voluteer@friendsofwillaparefuge.org.

June 26 Hiking on the refuge as part of Trails Month Celebration. Look for details by e-mail and newspaper announcements soon or e-mail info@friendsofwillaparefuge.org.

July 3 Leadbetter trails and gorse/scotchbroom pull.

July 10 Art walk through Oysterville, 9 a.m. through 1 p.m. Meet at Oysterville Schoolhouse between 8:30 and 9 a.m. Contact Nancy Beliveau, phone 707-364-6158, or e-mail beliveau47@peoplepc.com to preregister. Fee: $20 per person for non-members; free to members of Friends of Willapa Refuge. See details on page 8 of the summer issue of Willapa Tidings newsletter.

Aug 13-14 (Fri and Sat) Annual BBQ setup (on Fri) and execution (on Sat). This year, we’ll host our BBQ at the Tarlett Slough unit (95th and Sandridge), and ferry hikers from there over to Long Island for Cedar Grove access. Details will be sent by e-mail and postcard invitation or contact info@friendsofwillaparefuge.org.

Sept 4 HQ and Teal Slough trail maintenance.

Oct 2 Long Island campground cleanup.

Ongoing Volunteer Activities
Volunteer opportunities continue through the year, if you have the desire and the time to help. Contact Mariana Bergerson at the Refuge Headquarters office at 360-484-3482. Some regular activities needing volunteers:

Gorse Pulling on Long Island
We always need to be removing gorse, which is something that can be done by either individuals or groups.

Trail and Campsite Maintenance on Long Island
Many trails are difficult to traverse due to down trees and overgrown vegetation. Campsites are also in need of attention.

Creating Digital Photographs
The Refuge is looking for volunteers to inventory and archive photos. Tasks include sorting through photos and slides, typing up information on a laptop computer, scanning with a portable scanner and laptop, and, in the future, organizing materials for long term storage. Tasks can be separate or combined, depending upon a volunteer's interest. Training and oversight provided. This will be an ongoing project.

Environmental Education
4th Grade
Willapa National Wildlife Refuge staff and Friends of Willapa NWR volunteers visit each area fourth grade classroom four times during each school year. Students are introduced to national wildlife refuges, birding, habitat types, and amphibians. Each spring, the same 4th graders are treated to an all-day field trip on the refuge.

8th Grade
In eighth grade, students again participate in a field trip to the refuge and an intense classroom program. This time, they are studying more complex issues including water quality, human impacts on the bay, use of keys, social and environmental issues, and more.

High School
In high school, select students perform their community learning hours at the refuge. These students learn about the day to day operations of a national wildlife refuge and receive a lot of one on one time with refuge staff. Other students participate in Ilwaco’s Natural Resources program. These students visit the refuge with their instructor throughout the school year. At the end of the school year, these students serve as instructors for the 4th grade and 8th grade field trips…passing their knowledge and experience on to younger students. The Friends of Willapa NWR also offer scholarships each year to area graduating seniors intending on a career in natural resources.

And beyond...
Learning should never stop! And the refuge and Friends offer many adult education programs throughout the year. These programs may be tailored to specific issues such as salmon restoration, or on the refuge and wildlife in general.

Outreach
Friends members staff educational booth displays at different public events throughout the year. You might have seen us at the Ilwaco Saturday Market, Nahcotta Seafood Festival, or FinnFest.

Refuge Volunteer Efforts
Friends members volunteer for a variety of programs on the refuge including trail maintenance, control of noxious weeds such as gorse, bird and fish surveys, and trail monitoring.