Refuge welcomes resident volunteers
Each winter season, the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge welcomes resident volunteers to help with staffing shortages in exchange for a spot to park their RV and hook up to utilities.
This season, it welcomes two returning and four new couples. Of the volunteers, Norm Brodeur and Amanda Whitney arrived on Nov. 1 to assist in the Maintenance Department for the month.
A licensed massage therapist, Whitney last worked at the JW Marriott Marco Island Beach Resort Spa. As a licensed Realtor, Brodeur worked in the Naples area selling luxury RV sites.
“This past summer we volunteered with the National Forest Service in the White Mountains of New Hampshire,” she said. “We worked at a very busy trailhead advising backpackers and day hikers. We enjoy hiking so it was a fun experience.”
The couple vacationed on Sanibel a few years ago, and loved the ability to ride bicycles everywhere they needed to go and appreciated how much residents care for and take care of the island.
“‘Ding’ is a very special refuge,” Whitney said. “I’m impressed with the interns and employees – they all care deeply for the environment and, particularly, for this refuge.”
Refuge welcomes resident volunteers
Each season, the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge welcomes resident volunteers to help with staffing shortages in exchange for a spot to park their RV and hook up to utilities.
This season, it welcomes two returning couples – Jack and Patty Wettstein, and Carl and Sandy Greenbaum – plus four new couples. Of the new volunteers, Randy and Sandy Reed arrived on Nov. 1 to assist Conservation Educator Sara Hallas through mid-March.
“The first people we encountered were Sara and interns Izzy and Hannah,” Sandy Reed. “They immediately made us feel like we had made the right decision to come to ‘Ding.'”
As retired middle school science teachers and avid birders, the Reeds make a good fit for the education team. They have volunteered for a number of federal public lands since they retired more than three years ago. Two highlights were the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon and the Balcones Canyonlands NWR in Texas hill country.
“We had visited ‘Ding’ many years ago and learned that it is a special place,” Sandy Reed said. “We consider it an honor and privilege to volunteer here, especially in the field of education. Plus, we must admit, the weather is pretty desirable here, especially as a full-time RVer.”