Multiple types of projects<\/a> are available to volunteers including trail construction and maintenance, invasive vegetation removal and even landscape work at Peavy Arboretum<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n Ken Imamura, a retired Hewlett-Packard process engineer, is one of College of Forestry\u2019s core volunteers, each of whom volunteers on a weekly basis and collectively are responsible for most of the trail work on the research forests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI retired in October 2008 and started volunteering in the forest in November,\u201d said the 76-year-old Imamura, who lives near Peavy Arboretum. \u201cThe work is meaningful \u2013 users of the forest really appreciate what we do. I see people I know from work or from town, and two-thirds of the people who pass us and know we\u2019re volunteers thank us for what we contribute. That means more to me than any wage.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fifty years Imamura\u2019s junior is volunteer Andrew Miller, a Corvallis High School graduate with a nearly lifelong relationship with the research forests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI first started going to the forest close to 20 years ago; I\u2019m 26 now,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve had a connection with McDonald forest most of my life \u2013 it means a lot to me for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Miller, a mountain biker, trail runner and running coach, was inspired to forest volunteerism by the local trail running community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEverybody in the community was so good to me, and I wanted to be a part of that,\u201d he said. \u201cI feel like it\u2019s the right thing to do. Others have done it before me, which is why Mac forest is so cool, and now it\u2019s my time to get out there and give back and hopefully get others involved.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whether it\u2019s blowing leaves off trails, cleaning out ditches or pulling down overhanging limbs, the work of volunteers like Miller and Imamura involves \u201cwhatever needs to be done to make it safer for users of the forest,\u201d Imamura said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe only time we\u2019re not out there is when it\u2019s hazardous to us, like if there is heavy snow on limbs, or high winds,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Miller stresses that volunteer opportunities are open to anyone who completes the college\u2019s application process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou don\u2019t have to be in the know, it\u2019s not a select group of people,\u201d he said. \u201cEverybody wants to see more people getting out and giving back to the community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe all like to contribute,\u201d Imamura said. \u201cWe like to give back, and people definitely appreciate what we do. It touches your heart \u2013 that\u2019s payment in itself.\u201d For more information about volunteering in the forest, contact volunteer coordinator Matt McPharlin at 541-737-6730 or matt.mcpharlin@oregonstate.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Steve Lundeberg Opportunities for the public to enjoy the McDonald and Dunn research forests continue to be enhanced by volunteers of all ages who are always eager to welcome new members to their ranks. Multiple types of projects are available to volunteers including trail construction and maintenance, invasive vegetation removal and even landscape work… Continue reading ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/osu-wams-blogs-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/blogs.dir\/3115\/files\/2022\/12\/Ken1.jpg\")
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