The Voyageurs National Park Volunteer Rendezvous is a vital native habitat preservation project held in our nation’s premier water-based National Park. Due to chronically underfunded budgets, it is difficult for Voyageurs National Park to complete all of the conservation and maintenance work that keeps the Park a great place to visit. Voyageurs National Park Association organizes the Volunteer Rendezvous to help the Park meet its needs and engage community volunteers in caring for the Park.

NATIVE RESTORATION

Past events have provided upkeep and preventive maintenance for the Park’s trails, but based on the Park’s needs, we’ve shifted focus to habitat restoration. Former developed sites along this park’s 655 miles of glacier‐carved lakeshore have left gaps of uncharacteristically deforested land. Voyageurs’ shoreline ecosystem is critical habitat for wildlife such as common loons, wolves and Canada lynx as well as a prime visitor destination for camping and hiking.

Volunteers help Voyageurs National Park Service staff restore these areas to their wild, natural state in order to increase visitor access, preserve critical wildlife habitat, and enhance the scenic beauty of Park. Youth and adult volunteers plant native trees and wildflowers, remove destructive non-native plants, and collect seeds for greenhouse propagation.

In 2010, we began a multi-year project with Voyageurs National Park to help build an Ojibwe cultural garden at the Rainy Lake Visitor Center. The garden will exhibit native plants and their traditional uses as food and medicine, and have an Ojibwe wigwam and firepit for educational programs.

YOU CAN JOIN US, TOO!

The next Volunteer Rendezvous will be in fall 2011. To learn more, email vnpa@voyageurs.org and we’ll keep you in the loop.

Learn more about the 2010 Volunteer Rendezvous and view photos from the event.