By Dan Watson, Volunteer Coordinator, National Park Service – Ice Age National Scenic Trail
![The Village of Cross Plains is home to the Ice Age Trail Alliance headquarters-Photo by Joanne Ellarson Ice Age Trail Alliance Headquarters in the Village of Cross Plains. Photo by Joanne Ellarson.](https://www.iceagetrail.org/wp-content/uploads/The-Village-of-Cross-Plains-is-home-to-the-Ice-Age-Trail-Alliance-headquarters-Photo-by-Joanne-Ellarson.jpg)
The Ice Age Trail Alliance won the National Park Service George and Helen Hartzog award for the Midwest Region – Volunteer Group Award out of 21 outstanding nominations submitted in recognition of 2020 efforts.
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The George and Helen Hartzog Awards for Outstanding Volunteer Service recognize the exemplary contributions volunteers make to their park and to their community.
Dan Watson, Volunteer Coordinator, National Park Service – Ice Age National Scenic Trail submitted the nomination which recognizes the remarkable response of Ice Age Trail Alliance staff and volunteers to COVID-19’s impact on Alliance programs and activities.
Three areas of note include:
Open Trail: Although volunteer activities were suspended in spring, the Ice Age National Scenic Trail never closed, becoming a haven for citizens seeking a safe outdoor escape. As a result, the Alliance enjoyed a significant rise in membership and volunteers who discovered the Trail because of COVID and wanted to “give back”.
Decisive Action: The Alliance’s decisive actions – adjusting work plans immediately and creatively reorganizing for summer and fall success – enabled 1,499 Alliance volunteers to generate 53,297 hours of mission-critical service while adhering to mask-wearing and social distancing safety protocols. Eight trailbuilding projects resulted in 1,277 feet of boardwalk and 1.3 miles of new Trail constructed.
Online Learning: Think Outside, a program designed to engage 10,000 fourth graders in the Ice Age National Scenic Trail’s outdoor classroom, required a pandemic pivot. Zoom presentations for classrooms, a Digital Scavenger Hunt, and a video series were created to support online learning. Ice Age Trail Explorer Backpacks were developed and distributed to 13 community libraries along the Trail. These packs offered families a safe way to “Think Outside,” complete with guidebooks, compass, binoculars, journals, and first aid kits.
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