Home Index  
Volunteer Training
To become a Coe Park volunteer, you must complete a series of nine training sessions that run through the fall and winter, all on weekend days.  The training sessions are designed and taught by park staff, "seasoned" park volunteers, and special speakers.  The goal of the training is to help new volunteers learn the basic information and skills that will make them capable volunteers and help them find their special niche in the volunteer program.

2007 schedule

A lot of the training takes place outdoors, and the most notoriously fun of all the training is the two-day backcountry "Ride-Along" in October. Trainees, experienced volunteers, and park rangers join in a caravan of vehicles and tour the vast backcountry of Coe Park, camping (and feasting) at an old ranch house deep in the interior of the park and learning the lay of the land.  (The Ride-Along makes up two of the ten training sessions.)

Although some of the information new volunteers get during training is general in nature, most of it is geared specifically to the park.

The following subjects are taught to all volunteer trainees:

  Orientation to the park   Coe Park History
  Geology and climate   Historic land surveys
  Plant communities   Visitor Center staffing
  Wildflowers, trees, and shrubs   Visitor communications techniques
  Amphibians, reptiles, and arthropods   Resource management
  Local American Indian culture   First aid
  Pine Ridge Ranch history   Basic radio procedures

The following classes have been offered during "seminar days."   New trainees have first pick of the classes, but seasoned volunteers can also attend.

  Interpretive techniques   Ecology
  Birds   Search and rescue tracking
  Plant identification   Animal tracking
  Mountain lions   Compass and map reading
  Grasses   Prescribed burning techniques
  Nature observation   Knot tying

The Coe Park volunteer uniform is a khaki shirt (purchased by each volunteer) and plain-colored jeans, pants, or shorts.  During our annual meeting in February, you'll be given a state parks volunteer patch, a Pine Ridge Association patch, and a name tag for your uniform shirt.


Return  to "An Invitation to Join"