[Floridastateparks] Florida State Parks E-Newsletter - May 16, 2011

Mon May 16 13:41:49 EDT 2011

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May 16, 2011 - Follow us on Twitter @FLStateParks

www.FloridaStateParks.org/enewsletter/<http://www.FloridaStateParks.org/enewsletter/>

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Share your favorite state park in the Video Contest.

Florida State Parks Video Contest:
Share your real stories of [cid:image003.jpg at 01CC13CF.01AC9F70]
~ Two more weeks to send in your video ~

Park visitors have until Tuesday, May 31 to send in a video showing and telling us why Florida's state parks are the best! Your entry could win you a Family Annual Entrance Pass to Florida's state parks or a copy of the Florida State Parks...the Real Florida Passport.  Videos are limited to a minute or less. You may show your favorite park and/or favorite activities.  Be creative and have fun!
Learn more<http://www.floridastateparks.org/thingstodo/videocontest.cfm> about the contest rules and format. The deadline for delivery of the videos is 5 p.m. (EDT) on Tuesday, May 31, 2011. The top three videos will receive a Family Annual Entrance Pass and the top five will receive a copy of a Florida State Parks Passport.

AmeriCorps Members share their MyAmeriCorps Story
~ Members devote one or two years to the program while earning a stipend and education credits and impacting Florida's state parks ~

>From January through November, Florida State Park AmeriCorps members commit to serving 1,500 hours preserving and restoring Florida's natural and cultural resources while engaging the public through environmental education programs and volunteer outreach. So far this year, members have helped to restore more than 7,000 acres, maintain more than 300 miles of trails for recreational use and educate close to 9,000 park visitors on the wonders and importance of Florida's state parks.

To highlight the extraordinary impact of AmeriCorps programs nationwide, May 7-11, 2011 was designated AmeriCorps Week - MyAmeriCorps Story.

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Vince Hernandez, AmeriCorps member at Myakka River and Oscar Scherer State Parks

Scott Jacob, AmeriCorps member at Florida Caverns State Park

North Team AmeriCorps Members, including Rachel Payne, center

Individual Placement at Oscar Scherer State Park
As a Florida Park Service volunteer at Myakka River State Park, one of my greatest goals was to participate in the prescribed burning program. I had lots of people, park service personnel as well as other volunteers pulling for me. Passing the pack test was the biggest challenge. Since I've been placed at Oscar Scherer Sate Park, AmeriCorps has helped me put the icing on the cake so to speak. To date I have taken part in 14 burns at several state parks and have had the opportunity to volunteer for strike team duty. It is still early in the season and there is lots of burning to do. Who knows?  Maybe I will set an AmeriCorps record. ~ Vince Hernandez

Note: The pack test is a physical fitness test. Participants must walk two miles carrying 25 pounds and they must complete the task in 30 minutes. All staff members who work on prescribed fires must pass this test.

Individual Placement at Florida Caverns State Park
Growing up in the 60s, people I knew were joining the Peace Corps, some to avoid going to Vietnam. In 1973, I enlisted in the Navy Seabees and traveled to many foreign countries and on occasion crossed paths with Peace Corps members. It was always a thought in my mind to maybe join. Near the end of my eight years in the Navy, I went with a Civic Action Team to the Palau Islands in Micronesia. The team, to me, was the military's version of the Peace Corps. Desire fulfilled.

After I retired from the U.S. Postal Service in 2010, I came to the Florida Park Service fulfilling another desire to work outside and get involved with the environment. After a season as a part-time Park Ranger, the AmeriCorps position was offered to me. I have always been of the community service bent, volunteering in many areas such as Habitat for Humanity, as a volunteer firefighter, and helping with food drives to restock local community food shelves. Joining AmeriCorps would be a continuation of this life-long desire to be of service to my community and to my fellow man. I am thrilled to be an AmeriCorps member and will most likely pursue my other desire to become a Park Ranger. ~ Scott Jacob

Team Placement - North

I participated in AmeriCorps in 1999-2000 and can honestly say it was the best year of my life. I say "best" because not only did I have a great time, but I met interesting people from all over the globe, learned about the natural and cultural resources offered by Florida State Parks, gained the skills necessary for a successful career with the park service and oh, did I mention that I had a really good time? Our team of nine travelled to parks from St. Augustine to Sebastian Inlet and as far west as Lakeland. We would stay anywhere from one day to a week doing whatever the parks needed. Some of the things we did included planting sprigs of Spartina grass for habitat restoration at Tosohatchee Preserve, conducting a Beach Mice survey to determine the density of the mice at Anastasia State Park, repairing an ADA-accessible boardwalk at Sebastian Inlet State Park, removing exotic plants and repairing fence line at Wekiwa Springs State Park and giving interpretation programs. It felt great to know that I was helping park staff to achieve their mission of providing resource based recreation while preserving, interpreting and restoring Florida's natural and cultural resources! ~ Rachel Payne (now the Assistant Park Manager at Lake Louisa State Park)

More information: Florida State Parks AmeriCorps<http://www.floridastateparks.org/getinvolved/americorps.cfm> or national AmeriCorps<http://www.americorps.gov>.

Family Fun in May and June 2011

*         May 21 - Run for Wakulla Springs at Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park<http://www.floridastateparks.org/wakullasprings/default.cfm>, Wakulla Springs

*         May 21 - Nature Fest at Lake Louisa State Park<http://www.floridastateparks.org/lakelouisa/default.cfm>, Clermont

*         May 26, McLarty Treasure Museum Tour, 1 p.m., Sebastian Inlet State Park<http://www.floridastateparks.org/sebastianinlet/default.cfm>, Melbourne Beach

*         May 28, Low Tide Bike Ride, 11 a.m., Anastasia State Park<http://www.floridastateparks.org/anastasia/default.cfm>, St. Augustine

*         May 28 & May 29, World War Two Event, Fort Clinch State Park<http://www.floridastateparks.org/fortclinch/default.cfm>, Fernandina Beach

Special Events around Florida
*         Northwest Florida<http://www.floridastateparks.org/thingstodo/events-northwest.cfm>
*         Northeast Florida<http://www.floridastateparks.org/thingstodo/events-northeast.cfm>
*         Central Florida<http://www.floridastateparks.org/thingstodo/events-central.cfm>
*         Southwest Florida<http://www.floridastateparks.org/thingstodo/events-southwest.cfm>
*         Southeast Florida<http://www.floridastateparks.org/thingstodo/events-southeast.cfm>

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[cid:image009.png at 01CC13CF.01AC9F70]<http://www.facebook.com/pages/Florida-State-Parks/768566755>

[cid:image010.jpg at 01CC13CF.01AC9F70]<http://www.floridastateparks.org/>

The Department of Environmental Protection values your feedback as a customer. DEP Secretary Herschel T. Vinyard Jr. is committed to continuously assessing and improving the level and quality of services provided to you. Please take a few minutes to comment on the quality of service you received. Simply click on this link to the DEP Customer Survey<http://survey.dep.state.fl.us/?refemail=Parks.Newsletter@dep.state.fl.us>. Thank you in advance for completing the survey.
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