COMMUNITY MEMBERS INVITED TO JOIN 2nd ANNUAL MANZANAR VOLUNTEER DAY
Manzanar National Historic Site will celebrate National Park Week with its 2nd Annual Volunteer Day on Saturday, May 3, 2008, from 8:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. National Park Week is an annual Presidentially proclaimed week for celebration and recognition of your National Parks. Community members and their families are invited to join the Manzanar staff in a morning outdoor work project followed by a catered lunch, ranger programs, and a Junior Ranger program for kids.
The Volunteer Day work project involves clearing a section of the historic camp road grid to improve access around the site. The paths will go past the historic judo dojo and a pre-war home site. Volunteers will remove brush and vegetation, dig with shovels, prune, rake, and operate wheelbarrows. Work will be supervised by park staff.
The day’s schedule is as follows:
8:30 – 9:00 a.m. Arrive and sign-in, park in the Interpretive Center parking lot and meet on the north side of the building
9:00 a.m. Welcome, outline of work, safety message
9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Work project
12:00 – 1:00 p.m. Picnic lunch provided by Friends of Manzanar, special docent talk by a former Manzanar internee involved in judo at camp
1:00 – 2:00 p.m. Your choice: Junior Ranger program for kids age 5 to 12, or join a ranger for a walk through history.
Manzanar wants to engage the community in the preservation of this special site. Staff and community members will work together to improve the site, get to know our each other, and have some good, dirty, outdoor fun. Please wear sturdy, closed-toe shoes, a hat, and sunscreen. Manzanar will provide water, food, work gloves, and a commemorative bandana to every participant.
Volunteers should RSVP as participation is limited and so we can plan lunch. Please call Park Ranger Gretel Enck to RSVP and for more information at 760-878-2194, ext. 2713. Manzanar National Historic Site is located nine miles north of Lone Pine and six miles south of Independence on the west side of U.S. Highway 395. More information about the site is available online at www.nps.gov/manz.
