Maintain. Protect. Enjoy.
How to Get Involved
For $40 a year you can become a member of the Florida Trail Association and the Highlanders Chapter. If you'd like more information, please reach out to our Membership Chair, Mike Tamburrino at M_Tamburrino@msn.com
Attend Meetings
& Events
Attend our monthly membership meetings or come out to one of the many events we host throughout the year. Most events are free of charge and a great way to meet other like minded outdoor enthusiasts.
Volunteer
There are a ton of volunteer opportunities within our chapter. You can table at outreach events, assist with trail maintenance, aid in administrative work, or even become an Activity Leader to host events for our chapter!
Spread the Word
Join our Facebook group and share our emails, flyers, and events with your friends and family to spread the word about the work our organization is doing and the great events we host.
Explore
Get out onto the Florida Trail and explore all of the beautiful nature our state has to offer!
Volunteer Opportunities In Depth:
As a mostly volunteer ran organization, there are many ways to volunteer within our chapter! Below are some ways:
- Become an activity leader - An activity can be a lot of things within our chapter. All activity leaders follow the guidelines set by FTA (a guide is available for prospective leaders) and need to first arrange and lead 2 activities will with a certified leader within our chapter before a request is made to FTA to be certified. Just ask any one in leadership to get started. Once you're certified you can lead any activity that support FTA's mission - this can be events focused around hiking, backpacking, kayaking, cycling, camping, etc.
- Attend trail maintenance - Our chapter works to maintain over 57 miles of trail each season and our maintenance season runs from September through March. Maintenance includes lopping overhanging branches and placing them off the trail, using mowers/brush hogs to clear grasses and small growing plants on the trail, picking up litter, and at times blazing the trail (painting/repainting trail markers). You can learn more about opportunities and exactly what this entails on our Events page.
- Volunteer to assist manning a display table/booth at outreach events - Our chapter often attends local events to engage with our community and promote our chapter. Anyone can come and volunteer to assist us in these efforts. These opportunities are posted on our Events page and within our bi-monthly newsletter.
- Assist with administrative tasks - If you have any particular skillsets that you'd like to use to help make our chapter better, please never hesitate to reach out to someone in leadership. Some administrative tasks that we could always use help with: newsletter editing, website upkeep, marketing material (flyers, shirts, documents) creation, etc.
- Serve as a chapter meeting host
- Assist with maintenance of the memorial garden at PEAR Park
- Share your own ideas for strengthening and supporting the Highlanders Chapter
- Share what you would like to see for presentations at the Chapter meetings