Interpretive Service Volunteer

SERVICE DESCRIPTION: 

Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area is looking for volunteers to join the interpretive team at the Bandy Creek Visitor Center. This position will assist with visitor center operations and present interpretive programs for a variety of audiences. The volunteer is expected to be a professional representative as the initial contact for visitors entering the park. 

Big South Fork NRRA encompasses 125,000 acres of the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee and Kentucky and protects the free-flowing Big South Fork of the Cumberland River and its tributaries. The area boasts miles of scenic gorges and sandstone bluffs, is rich with natural and historic features and has been developed to provide visitors with a wide range of outdoor recreational activities. 

DUTIES:  

Volunteers will be trained to staff the information desk, operate a cash register for the park bookstore, provide informal and formal interpretation in the visitor center and historic grounds, rove the trails and various other park locations. Volunteers may also assist with special events. As time allows work may include special interpretive projects, talks or demonstrations, and library work. Volunteers will initiate visitor contact and provide information covering the primary themes of the park. 

Subjects covered in the park are varied and include but are not limited to Appalachian lifeways and culture, recreation, regional geology and hydrology, and wildlife. 

TIME COMMITMENT:  Volunteers will work at least 32 hours per week. 

SKILLS DESIRED: Good communication skills are essential along with an ability to learn about area history and enjoy sharing that knowledge with others. Incumbent must be able to develop a working knowledge of the stories of the Big South Fork and learn interpretive techniques to present those stories to visitors. Must have the ability to speak easily to the public one-on-one or to groups of 15-50 people. Must have a willingness to work and get along with a diverse variety of co-workers and visitors and be able to deal with the public in an enthusiastic and positive manner. Volunteers must demonstrate an ability to work in an organized, dependable, and safe manner.  

HOUSING: RV site provided.