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V.I. National Park Volunteering
V.I. National Park Volunteering
I've been meaning to post about this for a while now and am sorry that I'm just getting around to it.
Anyway, as some of you may know, the Virgin Islands National Park system has a volunteer program. In fact, most of the efforts accomplished by the park are done so by very generous people working on a volunteer-only basis.
I volunteered on St. John in December, and I can't say enough good things about the program. It's organizer, a man named Jeff Chabot who spends half the year on St. John and half in Alaska (always as a National Park volunteer), is a wealth of information, extremely passionate about what he does, and always in need of people to help.
On the day I volunteered, we spent the morning (until about 1:00) at the Annaberg Ruins. Now, almost everyone who's been to St. John has seen Annaberg, and I'd even been up there several times to take in the sight of the ruins as well as the beautiful view of the neighboring islands. It's almost like you could skip right to Sopers Hole from that overlook spot.
Anyway, even in the several times I'd been there, I was surprised to learn on that day in December that there are a lot more ruins hiding around Annaberg than what meets the eye.
The task for the morning was to clear the over grown brush around the ruins of three slave huts that sit on the edge of the hill. Here is what it looked like before:
And then, after several hours of work that passed surprisingly fast, the area was cleared:
It's difficult to tell from these photos, but in walking around the ruins, you can actually see the way they were constructed to get the most out of an otherwise undesirable space for a house.
During the time we were there, several people (tourists) stopped by to see what we were doing, and ask Jeff questions about the site. It was sort of cool to have revealed something that otherwise would have been hidden from the world. I found this experience really interesting and, in a philosophical sort of way, it was nice to do something for St. John, other than to stimulate the economy, of course.
If this piques anyone's interest, I highly recommend the experience. I know none of us goes on vacation to work, but as someone who sits at a desk or is in meetings every day, I didn't see this as work at all. It was refreshing to do something new, and I look forward to heading up to Annaberg to see the site the next time I'm on island.
The day I showed up to work, I was the one and only volunteer that day. The tasks of clearing around ruins is on-going, and the park staff and volunteers do not have the time nor man-power to stay ahead of it. So know if you spend a morning helping out, your effort will be appreciated far beyond just that morning.
If you're interested, the V.I. Friends van (operated by Jeff) picks up Tuesdays and Thursdays at 8 a.m. at Mongoose Junction, 8:15 a.m. at Cinnamon Bay and 8:30 a.m. at Maho Bay campgrounds. (for info call 340-779-4940).
By the way, the volunteer "season" only runs December thru mid-April.
Anyway, as some of you may know, the Virgin Islands National Park system has a volunteer program. In fact, most of the efforts accomplished by the park are done so by very generous people working on a volunteer-only basis.
I volunteered on St. John in December, and I can't say enough good things about the program. It's organizer, a man named Jeff Chabot who spends half the year on St. John and half in Alaska (always as a National Park volunteer), is a wealth of information, extremely passionate about what he does, and always in need of people to help.
On the day I volunteered, we spent the morning (until about 1:00) at the Annaberg Ruins. Now, almost everyone who's been to St. John has seen Annaberg, and I'd even been up there several times to take in the sight of the ruins as well as the beautiful view of the neighboring islands. It's almost like you could skip right to Sopers Hole from that overlook spot.
Anyway, even in the several times I'd been there, I was surprised to learn on that day in December that there are a lot more ruins hiding around Annaberg than what meets the eye.
The task for the morning was to clear the over grown brush around the ruins of three slave huts that sit on the edge of the hill. Here is what it looked like before:
And then, after several hours of work that passed surprisingly fast, the area was cleared:
It's difficult to tell from these photos, but in walking around the ruins, you can actually see the way they were constructed to get the most out of an otherwise undesirable space for a house.
During the time we were there, several people (tourists) stopped by to see what we were doing, and ask Jeff questions about the site. It was sort of cool to have revealed something that otherwise would have been hidden from the world. I found this experience really interesting and, in a philosophical sort of way, it was nice to do something for St. John, other than to stimulate the economy, of course.
If this piques anyone's interest, I highly recommend the experience. I know none of us goes on vacation to work, but as someone who sits at a desk or is in meetings every day, I didn't see this as work at all. It was refreshing to do something new, and I look forward to heading up to Annaberg to see the site the next time I'm on island.
The day I showed up to work, I was the one and only volunteer that day. The tasks of clearing around ruins is on-going, and the park staff and volunteers do not have the time nor man-power to stay ahead of it. So know if you spend a morning helping out, your effort will be appreciated far beyond just that morning.
If you're interested, the V.I. Friends van (operated by Jeff) picks up Tuesdays and Thursdays at 8 a.m. at Mongoose Junction, 8:15 a.m. at Cinnamon Bay and 8:30 a.m. at Maho Bay campgrounds. (for info call 340-779-4940).
By the way, the volunteer "season" only runs December thru mid-April.
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designbyroe
- Posts: 1348
- Joined: Tue Feb 27, 2007 1:27 pm
- Location: Chilaxin on White Bay at least in my mind
That is cool..........thanks for sharing.
I always enjoyed it when I lived on island.
I did not get to do it very often.
I will have to mention to people going on island to try.
You are right for those that are inside so much of the day, to be outside and helping is such a rewarding thing to do
I always enjoyed it when I lived on island.
I did not get to do it very often.
I will have to mention to people going on island to try.
You are right for those that are inside so much of the day, to be outside and helping is such a rewarding thing to do
There's no $ sign on a peace of mind, this I've come to know