Immerse Yourself in the Franklin Mountains: Become a volunteer.

The community activities, campouts and school field trips have been keeping your park rangers and volunteers busy both in the Franklin Mountains State Park and throughout the city this Spring.  It’s a great time of year to get involved with community programs through volunteerism and be a shining El Paso star.  You can find numerous ways to participate.

One way is by signing up as a volunteer with the Franklin Mountains State Park.  For example, some of our veteran and brand new volunteers have partnered with the rangers in conducting outreach programs, manning booths at events and providing programs for elementary students visiting the park.

These are just a few of the ways you can have an impact in your community through park volunteerism; search for opportunities at any of the three Texas State Parks in El Paso by visiting the following website:  http://ec.volunteernow.com/recruiter/index.php?class=VolunteerNavigation&recruiterID=1353&act=CONTROL:OPP_SEARCH_LINK

Our 2014 FMSP Volunteer Orientation will be in July – Saturday, July 12th through Sunday, July 13th.  This will be the first FMSP volunteer orientation to offer a campout component, which is sure to be a lot of fun.  The Saturday morning portion of the orientation will be indoors; you’ll meet some of our staff, receive presentations on the history of the park, volunteer opportunities, and techniques and tips for effective interpretation.  Saturday afternoon will see the group at the Tom Mays Unit where we’ll take a hike to some of our popular areas in the park; we’ll then set up our tents, dine and relax to close the evening.  Sunday morning will start with a Dutch oven 101 course to prepare our breakfast, wilderness first aid presentations, demos on a couple of our popular school field trip programs, and a hike and service project.

Whether you are already a park volunteer or are just looking into the possibilities, make your plans to join us and send an email to:  Adrianna.weickhardt@tpwd.texas.gov for more information.