By JENNIKA INGRAM | Reporter
Calling all nature enthusiasts and novices alike throughout Pacific Palisades: The Topanga Canyon Docents are accepting new volunteers for its fall training program.
“I could recognize an oak tree and that was about it,” Palisadian Roger Heyman, a docent for three years, recalled of when he first started with the program.
Each docent will learn to lead hikes for adults and schoolchildren, host at the Visitor Center, and provide park visitors with information about hikes and trails, as well as the natural and cultural resources of Topanga State Park and the Santa Monica Mountains.
“I found it enormously informative because there are some really high-level people that give a lot of information,” said Heyman, now a member of the board.
All different ages are welcome to join the docent training—from recent college graduates to retired folks.
“I really do think Topanga Docents are a really amazing group,” said Patricia Hill, president for the past two years.
Heyman, who lives in The Highlands, said that one of the most rewarding aspects has been the hikes and Visitor Center experience they give to grade-school kids, mostly between second and fifth grade.
“It’s exciting because the kids always have a great time, and some of them have never been hiking before, depending on what school they come from, so it’s always fun pointing out things the kids would be interested in,” Heyman shared.
Hill, a former elementary teacher for inner-city kids for 26 years, said it’s one of the reasons she joined.
“I’ve seen it truly can be a life-altering experience for city kids … who come out to this beautiful place and are led on hikes, and I can see the transformation, I’ve seen it on their faces,” Hill explained.
Those who attend the training will learn about plant and animal identification and interrelationships, geology, Native American culture, and more.
Topanga Canyon Docents is a nonprofit, volunteer-run program that started in 1974. Some of the original volunteers are on board to this day.
“We have long-term volunteers; we’re a devoted group,” said Hill, a docent for 24 years.
This once-per-year docent training will run September 14 to November 23, with classes held every other Saturday at Trippet Ranch Visitor Center in Topanga State Park, along with docent-led interpretative walks on alternate Sunday mornings.
To sign up or for more information, visit topangacanyondocents.org or email info@topangacanyondocents.org.
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