Discover Your Forest, the non-profit partner of the Deschutes National Forest, is hosting the annual Winter Volunteer Information Night in late October for volunteers who are interested in supporting the Forest Stewards on the Deschutes National Forest.
The event will be held on Tuesday, October 29, 2024, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Deschutes National Forest office, located at 63095 Deschutes Market Road, in Bend. The event is focused on recruiting volunteers to serve as Forest Stewards.
The focus of the Forest Stewards program is to engage visitors while they are in the forest through in-person contacts. Face-to-face interactions with trained liaisons, in a Forest Service uniform, out in the field help make users feel welcome, but they also provide opportunities for education and can be an effective means to influence visitor behavior. Forest Stewards are stationed at different sites across the forest.
Examples of what the Forest Stewards do, include:
- Serve as a friendly, informative welcome committee on trails, at trailheads and at recreation sites.
- Educate users about our fire-dependent ecosystem
- Provide information that helps build awareness around responsible public land use
Volunteers are provided uniforms and training. Volunteers are asked to commit to at least one day per week from mid-December through the end of March 2025.
TO RSVP for the Winter Volunteer Information Night or for questions, please contact Christin Shapiro, Discover Your Forest – Forest Stewards Program Manager, at christin.shapiro@discovernw.org.
