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Park Authority Honors Outstanding Resource Management VolunteersThe Fairfax County Park Authority recently held the annual Volunteer Excellence Award recognition program honoring individual volunteers in the Resource Management Division who have made tremendous contributions of time, talent and energy to the interpretation and stewardship of Fairfax County’s natural and cultural heritage. Lynn Glasser, also a resident of Falls Church, has been a volunteer at Green Spring Gardens since 2005 and has contributed 870 hours of service. She can be found at least twice a week in the gardens, or in the polyhouse or assisting in the horticulture center. She is an expert at conducting historic research and can be found assisting with events or pouring tea at the historic house. Wherever there is a need, Ms. Glasser will be found providing enthusiastic support. Kitty O’Hara of Falls Church has been an active volunteer at Colvin Run Mill Historic Site for the past five years. She contributes her volunteer service as a storekeeper, docent, special events assistant and collections management assistant. She stays abreast of the latest trends in cultural interpretation by attending historic preservation classes, attending museum education workshops and joining professional organizations. To date, she has provided 1,400 hours of volunteer service. Greg Sykes joined the volunteer corps approximately 19 months ago putting his passion for environmental change into action as an Invasive Management Area (IMA) volunteer leader. Sykes, a resident of Fairfax got to work recruiting other volunteers willing to remove invasive plants and restore native species at three sites at Lake Royal Park. He’s proven to be very successful generating support for over 50 events including workdays, training and monitoring visits. With his investment of 275 hours, he has generated an additional 240 hours of community involvement. His team has already reduced invasives at that park by more than 50% and 100 native plantings have been made. He continues to devote time to educating others about the threat of non-native species and often leads nature walks. Cathy Riley-Hall a volunteer at Ellanor C. Lawrence Park for over 25 years was also recognized as were three volunteers with 20 years of service including Janice Grogin and Hamida Pencola, both volunteers at Sully Historic Site as well as Diane Shug-O’Neill a volunteer in the Cultural Resource Management Protection section. These awards were started in 1996 in order to honor the service of these many dedicated individuals. There are 778 volunteers in the Resource Management Division. This past fiscal year, division volunteers contributed 59,720 hours, valued at more than $1,165,000. Find out how you can volunteer. |
