Volo volunteers share their love of nature

You may have walked the nature trails at Volo Bog State Natural Area in Ingleside knowing the area is a unique remnant of the glacial age 12,000 years ago.

But did you really see the surroundings at Illinois' only quaking bog?

That's where volunteer expertise, like that offered by Carol Shaffer, Trisha Steele and Bob Vetter, can come into play.

"They expand what we can offer," explains Stacy Iwanicki, education coordinator for Volo Bog State Natural Area and Moraine Hills State Park.

Volunteers have been active at the site since the early 1980s and help in a variety of ways, such as leading environmental and educational programs or tours, tending native gardens and monitoring birds.

"We each all have little pieces to share with people," says Steele, a Round Lake resident whose profession is municipal finance. She began volunteering a year ago.

"It's like a rock on the pond. We're the ripples on the outside."

Shaffer, a biology teacher and computer scientist, began visiting the bog in the 1970s, when she lived in Naperville. When her family moved to Grayslake three years ago, her interest intensified and she began volunteering.

Both are weekday docents who greet visitors, answer questions, assist in program registration and the quarterly newsletter, operate the book and gift shop and participate in special events, such as International Bog Day and Ghost Stories.

They also are co-winners of the 2009 Volunteer of the Year award at Volo Bog.

Vetter, a retired accountant from Round Lake Park, was named Volunteer of the Year for Moraine Hills State Park/McHenry Dam for the second consecutive year.

Altogether the Illinois Department of Natural Resources recognized 97 volunteers for contributing 5,764 hours at Volo and Moraine Hills in 2009.

Vetter has been involved about five years and coordinates the Native Gardeners, a team of 10 who tend to native plant demonstration gardens, at both locations.

"I wanted to learn about the wildflowers," he said. "I just kept going and going and going." He estimated logging about 600 volunteer hours each of the past two years.

Wild orchids are among the offerings that visitors may not be familiar with, as are pitcher plants, a carnivorous plant that eats insects, for example.

Vetter also is a founding member of Friends of Moraine Hills State Park, established in 2007. He serves as treasurer and membership secretary and manages the group's Web site, friendsofmorainehillsstatepark.org.

Volo Bog and Moraine Hills operated separately until 2004 when they were consolidated for staffing purposes following state budget cuts.

The move allowed for some economy of scale but also has increased the importance of volunteer help.

"That's been part of the joy of the volunteering opportunity is learning so much," said Steele.

"When I saw they were going to have volunteer training, I wanted to see what it was all about and never left."

Others receiving recognition for contributing more than 100 hours were: Nancy Bodinet of Lake Zurich; Bill Ewert of Ingleside; Jim Hegarty (intern) of Fox Lake; John Holmes of Lake Villa; Car Krautwurst of Grayslake; Merry Miller of Lake Villa; Nancy Schietzelt of Crystal Lake; Katerina Stepnikova, an intern now home in the Czech Republic; and Neil Whitman of McHenry.

Vetter, Shaffer and Steel also are on the board of directors of the Friends of Volo Bog, friendsofvolobog.org, a nonprofit organization that promotes awareness of the area through programs, events and other means. Shaffer is treasurer and Vetter is vice chair.

Visit the Web sites for volunteer opportunities or to become members.