Our Volunteers are Amazing!


Since the inception of Friends of Acadia nearly 40 years ago, we’ve always been powered by volunteers. From our Drop-in Stewardship program, Wild Gardens of Acadia volunteers, service groups, membership table volunteers, and the hikers who schlep soil to Acadia’s summits during a Save Our Summit hikes, these dedicated folks give graciously of their time. It’s often sweat-inducing work, but their effort is so incredibly impactful and helps complement the hard work of park staff.

Thank you to all who volunteered with us this season, whether you dropped in once or returned week after week, season after season. Your impact is mighty!

Volunteers with Friends of Acadia’s Drop-in Stewardship Program, pose for a portrait while building new bogwalk, (Rhiannon Johnston/Friends of Acadia)

Volunteers from Texas State University drop soil off at a restoration site on the summit of Sargent mountain. (Rhiannon Johnston/Friends of Acadia)

Liane Rozzell (left) and Linda Kaufman, volunteers with Friends of Acadia’s Drop-in Stewardship Program, pose for a portrait while building a new bogwalk on the Hadlock Ponds Trail. (Rhiannon Johnston/Friends of Acadia)

Volunteers proudly hold their soil bags on Sargent Mountain as they stand in the designated soil drop of area for the Save Our Summits Program.

A volunteer with the Volunteer Drop-in Program use a pair of shears to remove branches and clear brush. (Rhiannon Johnston/Friends of Acadia)

A Wild Gardens of Acadia volunteer helps prepare for the Annual Wild Gardens Plant Sale. (Rhiannon Johnston/Friends of Acadia)

Drop-in Stewardship Volunteers, with Groundwork Bridgeport and SCA Americorps, prepare to clear a vista on the Upper Mountain Carriage road with NPS Trail Crew. (Rhiannon Johnston/Friends of Acadia)

Drop-in Stewardship Volunteers congregate outside of the volunteer shed prior to daily project assignments.(Rhiannon Johnston/Friends of Acadia)

Brian Sale, a volunteer with Friends of Acadia, welcomes a new member at the Friends of Acadia Membership Table outside of Jordan Pond House. (Rhiannon Johnston/Friends of Acadia)

Volunteers brush and maintain the Trenton Community Trail behind the Acadia Gateway Center in Trenton, Maine. (Rhiannon Johnston/Friends of Acadia)

Volunteers carried 213 pounds of soil to the summit of Sargent Mountain during the final Soil to Summit hike of the season! (Rhiannon Johnston/Friends of Acadia)

Wild Gardens of Acadia volunteers pose for a group photo after the successful conclusion of the Annual Wild Gardens of Acadia Plant Sale. (Rhiannon Johnston/Friends of Acadia)

Volunteers ready their bags before hiking with soil to the summit of Sargent Mountain during a Save Our Summits hike. (Rhiannon Johnston/Friends of Acadia)

Volunteers clear a historic vista along the Upper Mountain Carriage Road overlooking Connors Nubble. (Rhiannon Johnston/Friends of Acadia)

Volunteers walk the carriage roads on their way to their work location for the day. (Rhiannon Johnston/Friends of Acadia)

Chilton Trust employees volunteer on the park’s carriage roads. (Rhiannon Johnston/Friends of Acadia)

Chilton Trust employees rake leaves from the carriage roads and clear out drainage during a volunteer day in Acadia.(Rhiannon Johnston/Friends of Acadia)

Volunteers on the carriage roads of Acadia. (Rhiannon Johnston/Friends of Acadia)

Group photo of Stewardship Crew volunteers. (Rhiannon Johnston/Friends of Acadia)

Kathy, a volunteer with the Volunteer Drop-in Program, uses shears to brush the Great Head Trail. (Rhiannon Johnston/Friends of Acadia)

Volunteers prepare to begin brushing the Great Head Trail in Acadia National Park. (Rhiannon Johnston/Friends of Acadia)

Ruth (right) and other volunteers prepare to walk in the annual Bar Harbor Fourth of July Parade. (Rhiannon Johnston/Friends of Acadia)

Volunteers from Texas State University prepare to haul soil up to restoration sites at the summit of Sargent mountain. (Rhiannon Johnston/Friends of Acadia)

Cora Olgyay, left, during the Wild Gardens of Acadia Plant Sale. (Rhiannon Johnston/Friends of Acadia)

Volunteers pile up their bags of soil at the summit of Sargent Mountain. Participants chose how much soil to carry in their packs, ranging from 5 to 25 pounds, and that soil is used during summit restoration projects. (Rhiannon Johnston/Friends of Acadia)

Save Our Summits volunteers celebrate with the bags of soil they carried up to the summit of Sargent Mountain. (Rhiannon Johnston/FOA)

A group of Drop-in Stewardship volunteers poses for a photo on Acadia’s carriage roads.

Stewardship Crew volunteers take a breather while building bogwalk this summer.

Save Our Summits volunteers hike up Sargent Mountain with backpacks full of soil. (Rhiannon Johnston/Friends of Acadia)

Volunteers help fill bags of soil before a Save Our Summits hike. (Rhiannon Johnston/Friends of Acadia)

Volunteers with the Stewardship Drop-in Program and Student Conservation Association pose for a photo during a vista clearing day. (Rhiannon Johnston/Friends of Acadia)

Volunteers with the Stewardship Crew pose during a break while doing work on Acadia’s trails.

Employees from Chilton Trust spent a day raking leaves from the carriage roads and clearing drainage, which helps reduce erosion and water damage during heavy rains. (Rhiannon Johnston/Friends of Acadia)

Volunteers with the Volunteer Drop-in Program hike in to the day’s work location. (Rhiannon Johnston/Friends of Acadia)

Nikki Burtis applies face paint to Friends of Acadia volunteer John Baird before the annual Bar Harbor Fourth of July Parade. (Rhiannon Johnston/Friends of Acadia)