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Dear Tonia,
As Friends of Virgin Islands National Park heads into our 37th season as an organization, I am reminded of the power of collective action and the optimism that you, our members and donors, represent. Thank you for sharing our belief over the years that the smallest actions have value.
Virgin Islands National Park announced proposed amenity fee increases earlier this month and opened a one month public comment period. While one can debate the details in the proposal, as the Park's philanthropic partner we are extremely cognizant of the cost of protecting and preserving natural and cultural resources and welcome their focus on looking for additional funding sources. As a visitor to Virgin Islands National Park, I encourage you to look at the fee proposal and share your views on the Park's website before the October 9 deadline.
Despite the challenges both locally and globally that impact natural and cultural resources across our planet, we remain committed to making a positive impact in our small corner of the world and are excited by the season ahead that kicks off with Ocean Week seminars and a coastal cleanup in which we hope you will participate.
Your generosity makes our work possible. By way of thanks to you, our October membership drive offers anyone looking to renew their membership or become a member the added bonus of being entered into a raffle to win a beautiful pendant and necklace kindly donated by Vibe Jewelry.
We look forward to sharing the gifts of the Park as we get busy this month with school kid trips, Learn To Swim sessions, visitor experiences, and the first sea turtle hatchlings of the season expected to venture into the world.
Thank you for being a Friend!
Warmly,
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Tonia Lovejoy
Executive Director
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Ocean Week: For Love Of Ocean | |
Ocean Week on St. John is October 14 to 20, 2024 and includes a beach cleanup, school activities, and seminars on the wonderful marine world around us. Inspired by International Coastal Cleanup Day, we join millions around the world to make a difference because every bottle, every straw, every piece of trash we clean up can lead to a cleaner, healthier ocean. Let's protect our ocean, marine life, and coral reefs together! | | |
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VIRTUAL SEMINARS
Be fascinated by the world beneath the waves! Join us for a series of virtual seminars on the magic of the marine world.
--USVI Wildlife Rehab
Wednesday, October 16 | 12:30PM AST
--Sea Turtles 101
Thursday, October 17 | 12:30PM AST
--Coral Ecosystems
Friday, October 18 | 12:30PM AST
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DRUNK BAY COASTAL CLEANUP
Join us in clearing Drunk Bay of marine debris and trash on Saturday, October 19! Meeting point is the Salt Pond parking lot at 9AM. We should be done by noon!
Please wear comfortable shoes as Drunk Bay is rocky and bring sun protection and water. Friends will provide gloves and bags.
High schoolers will be credited with 5 community service hours.
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GET SNORKELING & EXPLORING
Friends believes that there is a particular magic to exploring the marine world responsibly and has launched a new app to help visitors to the Park do just that!
Read the feature story in The Virgin Islands Daily News to learn more about our new Plan Your Snorkel App: "Looking For The Best STJ Snorkeling Sites? Check Out This New App."
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Win A Fabulous Piece of Jewelry In Our October Membership Drive | | |
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Be A Friend! As a special thank you for renewing your membership or signing up before October 31, you will be entered into an awesome raffle!
The winner of the raffle will win a beautiful, handcrafted sterling silver sea turtle pendant with a larimar cabochon shell on an 18” nautical box chain. The pendant and necklace are valued at $646 and are kindly donated by Vibe Jewelry. A runner-up will receive an awesome canvas tote full of goodies from the Park Store that is managed by Friends.
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Learn To Swim Instructor Training | | |
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The Friends' Learn To Swim program offers free swim classes to all ages every Saturday morning and provides training for instructors and lifeguards.
The next training session is on Friday, November 1 and Saturday, November 2 at Cinnamon Bay! Friends of Virgin Islands National Park covers the cost of the course ($350) and everyone attending must sign a letter of intent that commits them to teaching at least 8 Learn To Swim sessions. This is a paid position and anyone over the age of 15 is eligible.
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Villas For The Park Auction & Fundraiser | | |
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Welcome to our 8th Annual Villas For The Park online auction! Spend an amazing vacation in the Virgin Islands and help protect this beautiful place!
Huge thanks to these wonderful places who have already donated stays to the 2024 auction: Aahana Grande Bay Resort, Bombalassy Villa, Coral Caribe Villa, Cruz Bay Boutique Hotel, DreamView on the Hill, Fish Tales Cottage, Frenchman’s Reef, Garden By The Sea, Lime Time, Lots of Knots, Marketplace Suites, Mayan Sky, Mystical Mermaid, On A Clear Day, Rebecca’s Fancy, Reef Break Vista, Seaside at Grande Bay Resort, Stonehouse, Sunset Ridge Villa, The Fred Boutique Resort & Spa, The Green Iguana Hotel, The Hills St John, The Other World Villa, Turtle’s Nest, Villa Adagio, Villa Bijou, Villa Circe, and Villa Madeline.
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Proposed Amenity Fee Changes.
The Park is seeking public comments on proposed changes to current expanded amenity fees, and implementation of new fees at multiple facilities that may begin as early as January 1, 2025. Please visit their website for more information and submit all comments through the park’s Planning, Environment and Public Comment (PEPC) site before October 9 --https://parkplanning.nps.gov/VIISExpandedAmenityFees
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Community Engagement Meeting
Virgin Islands National Park will host a meeting on Wednesday, October 9, 2024, from 5:45 PM to 6:45 PM as part of the park’s regularly scheduled public meetings. Topics include general park updates on Caneel Bay, Hassel Island, coral reefs, along with information on the Southern Evacuation Route Feasibility Study, Lameshur Road, water systems at Cinnamon and Trunk Bay, and stabilization of the Danish Warehouse. The meeting will be hosted in the Resource Management and Science (RMS) building conference room at Lind Point.
Virgin Islands National Park Volunteers
The Park is recruiting for their winter 2024-2025 volunteers and currently searching for intrepid bay hosts, inquisitive visitor center liaisons, and open-minded docents here https://www.volunteer.gov/s/. Any further inquiries on volunteering with the Virgin Islands National Park should be directed to viis_interpretation@nps.gov or (340) 776-6201
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Community engagement is key to our ability to protect and preserve our park today and tomorrow. We would not be able to do the important work that keeps our Virgin Islands National Park thriving for visitors and residents alike without the generous support of local businesses. | | |
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OOMPH
Our thanks to the team at Oomph for doing an accessibility audit of our website pro bono.
Digital experiences know no boundaries and we appreciate Oomph's help in ensuring that our site takes into account usability, privacy, security, representation, and cultural sensitivity.
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