At first, the notion of a volunteer vacation sounded like an offer I could afford to refuse. To travel hundreds, perhaps even thousands of miles from home, on my own dime, and volunteer with the American Hiking Society (AHS) for days of strenuous work in idyllic settings in maddeningly close proximity to sunbathers, day hikers, and other representatives of the leisure class? "Maybe next year," I thought.
But the more I contemplated the idea, the more I became convinced that helping to maintain our national parks and public lands was an ideal way to "do for my country." So I signed on with a crew of four other volunteers to spend a week in Haleakala National Park, then I bought a ticket to Maui and counted down the days until my departure.
A few weeks later, I received in the mail a packet containing the names and contact information of my fellow volunteers and the trip logistics from AHS. Our group would be living together for the five days and nights in a prepared campsite, sharing the responsibilities for the preparation of meals and care of equipment. My Haleakala contingent turned out to be a very diverse group, including a mom from Traverse City, Michigan, a medical student from Chicago, a retiree from New York City, and a grandfather from New Brunswick, Canada.
Under the direction of two kind and capable Park Service naturalists, our crew spent five days in March 2006 in Haleakala, essentially picking up where the last group of AHS volunteers had left off. Our first assignments were planting native hala and napaka plants in the coastal district of Kipahulu. We then spent a day with Kipahulu Ohana, an NPS partner and nonprofit organization dedicated to the practice and promotion of Hawaiian culture, caring for taro plants in "lo'I" (field) by burying weeds and clearing drainage ditches to ensure proper irrigation.
Most of our work was completed on bended knee in rough fields under a blazing sun. Our rewards came in the form of native Hawaiians shouting "Mahalo!" (thanks) as they drove past our work site, and the passage of a pod of whales that swam parallel to the shore about 200 yards off the coast. We even developed the habit of ending each workday by visiting a different beach for a swim in the ocean.
By the end of our week in Haleakala our crew had managed to knock several tasks off the Park Service's backlog maintenance list. We'd gotten a behind-the-scenes tour of NPS operations, supported efforts to preserve native culture, and visited some of the more secluded and scenic locations in Maui. Moreover, we got to see that a small group of people could make a positive difference in the health of our national parks and public lands.
Noted author and historian Robin Winks once referred to his love affair with the national parks as a "magnificent obsession." I'm not nearly as familiar with our National Park System as Mr. Winks was. I do, however, know that the 390 units of that system are the most significant natural, cultural, and historic places on the American landscape. It remains my privilege to have visited a few of these sites and to have spent the better part of the last seven years working to protect and enhance them. And my thanks to AHS for allowing me the opportunity to make a difference.
