Happy National Volunteer Week!
This week, we're recognizing and celebrating our fabulous volunteers at Point Reyes National Seashore.
The National Park Service's volunteer program,
Volunteers-in-Parks, or VIP, program,
engages thousands of volunteers across the country each year
in accomplishing priority work, that would not be done otherwise.
This year happens to be the 50th anniversary of the National Park Service VIP program!
My name is Doug Hee,
Park Ranger and acting Volunteers-in-Parks program manager
for Point Reyes National Seashore.
I'd like you to meet one of Point Reyes National Seashore's volunteers,
Katie Ballinger, so she can tell us some stories about her volunteer work.
And, by the way, Katie was awarded Volunteer of the Year at Point Reyes for 2019!
So I'm really happy to invite Katie Ballinger to speak with us today.
[Doug:] Hi Katie! Thanks for being with us.
Hi Doug! Thank you it's an honor.
[Doug:] How long have you been volunteering at Point Reyes and what do you do?
So I started volunteering at Point Reyes in 2015.
At that time, I was a tule elk docent.
And then, currently, I volunteer as a harbor seal monitor,
as well as, I work with you, Doug, in the volunteer engagement office.
I'm a volunteer program management assistant there,
and, basically, right now, my responsibility, my main one,
is publishing the volunteer newsletter every month.
[Doug:] Can you describe some of the things you do as a harbor seal monitor?
Oh, yeah! As a harbor seal monitor, basically, I hike out...my surveys are on Tomales Point,
and I hike out and count the number of harbor seal pups
and adult harbor seals that I see along the bluffs there.
I go out a couple times a month, and do that.
Basically, we're just monitoring the populations of harbor seals in the Seashore.
[Doug:] Can you tell me about one of your most memorable moments as a volunteer?
It's really hard to just choose one, I think.
I love wildlife, so most of my memorable experiences are wildlife encounters.
I got the chance to see a newborn harbor seal pup take its first swim,
and that was really cool.
The last harbor seal survey I went out on,
I actually saw a long-tailed weasel, along the side of the trail,
pop its head up out of a gopher hole, and we locked eyes for a few minutes.
That was a pretty neat experience.
And beyond that, I think
times where I got to share wildlife experiences with visitors in the park really stand out to me.
Really being able to share that sense of wonder and excitement with someone else.
It just gives you a sense of connection with them and a connection with something bigger as well.
I hesitate to call it a spiritual experience, but I would say it almost is a spiritual experience.
[Doug:] Thank you. So, when you aren't volunteering at the seashore,
[Doug:] what would we most likely find you doing?
Well, my paying job is as a psychiatrist.
In my free time, usually, you'd find me hiking, or birding, or taking natural history classes at the College of Marin.
Right now, I've been doing a lot of backyard birding.
[Doug:] What advice would you give someone who is thinking about volunteering at Point Reyes?
I would say go for it. And, also, that I'd be happy to talk with them about different options.
There are so many different opportunities and I think there's really something for everybody.
You know, whether it's something that's more citizen science, like harbor seal monitoring, or
something where you have more contact with visitors.
There are opportunities to really be kind of off on your own working, or working with other people.
They're just really so many different roles that you can take.
I think, you know, you can really find something for everyone.
(Doug:) And what is your favorite place to visit at Point Reyes National Seashore?
So, I'm going to say Tomales Point.
I really fell in love with that when I was a tule elk docent,
and, now, my harbor seal surveys are out there
and it just, like, makes me so happy every time I get to go out there.
Plus, you're nearly guaranteed to see tule elk out there...I won't say guaranteed.
It can get pretty foggy. But nearly a hundred percent of the time you'll see one...or more than one actually.
[Doug:] Yeah it is a special place.
Yep.
(Doug:) Well, thank you Katie, for sharing with us your experiences as a volunteer.
Oh, you're welcome! Thanks!
If you are interested in volunteering at Point Reyes National Seashore,
please visit our website
at nps.gov/pore
Thank you for spending time with us today.
We hope you'll all have an opportunity to visit Point Reyes National Seashore in the future!