Volunteers In Parks (VIP) is an official countrywide program supervised by National Park Service employees where volunteers work with staff to maintain the park. VIP projects include the Sleeping Bear Dunes beach patrol and the continuing VIP project on South Manitou Island. A North Manitou Island VIP crew is just getting started under the leadership of Jennifer Miller, the island maintenance supervisor.
After a slow start in previous years, the program had a full season in 2022. From May through October 29, individuals spent 217 days on South Manitou Island, recording 1823 volunteer hours. Major categories of effort included visitor assistance/VIP Rangers (624 hours), historic cottage window and shutter repair (381 hours), trail maintenance (276 hours), and village mowing (115 hours). We are looking forward to another busy season in 2023 and are taking applications for new crew members.
Housing in park buildings for a maximum of 14 VIPs will be available on North Manitou for at least one week every month from May through October. The typical trip length is about a week but participants can come to the island more than once in a season. Different trip lengths are negotiable, but each trip must include at least three nights on the island. The proposed projects for 2023 are similar to those of 2022: trail maintenance, village mowing and bush-hogging, and building historic cottage screens and storm windows. New projects could be fence repairs (and other work) in the cemetery, back-country campsite clean-up, and installing a floor in a wilderness farmhouse. The project list is not final and may be revised before the season begins.
Most tasks require no previous experience. Training is on the job. We also need a few skilled artisans such as woodworkers to make window screens from scratch. One artisan with a few helpers can make many screens. There is a workshop with power tools on the island and various hand tools for trail maintenance. The park provides tools and materials. Some jobs are more physically demanding, such as trail work that may require day-long hiking in the wilderness.
The program provides all VIPs with transport and housing (with full kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom facilities) at no charge in exchange for their labor. However, VIPs must bring their own food and drink. VIPs work alongside Park staff and are considered colleagues, not subordinates. Individuals must sign a formal agreement and comply with National Park Service guidelines while volunteering. Your volunteer hours are credited to you individually (instead of to a group) and you earn gratuities for continued service, such as Dune Dollars, badges, hats and T-shirts.
If you are interested in applying to serve on the North Manitou VIP crew, contact Alan Richardson by email at VIP4N.Manitou@gmail.com
Alan Richardson
VIP Crew Lead
North Manitou Island
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore