We are excited to let all California Naturalists, Climate Stewards, and course partners know that we are nearing the final stages of a big transition to a new and much improved Volunteer Management System! Ever feel a little frustrated with the limitations and service disruptions in our current system? We hear you, we share your frustrations, and we think you'll really like the new system!

We anticipate the Volunteer Management System will be available in mid-February 2022. We have chosen a custom built system developed by Oregon-based Ideal-Logic. There may be up to two weeks of system downtime in early February. We'll provide short training videos and FAQ to assist new users. We believe that users will find the new system more intuitive and robust. For central UC California Naturalist staff and our course partners, the new system will streamline data collection systems, trigger volunteer milestones, and make reporting simpler.

California Naturalists and Climate Stewards that want to receive a 40-hour annual service pin for 2021 will have until January 31 to enter their 2021 volunteer hours in the current system. As with 2020 we have opted to lower the hours requirement to receive a service pin from 40 hours down to 15 to accommodate the safety issues and closures stemming from COVID-19 as well as impacts from another long and destructive wildfire season.

2020 Volunteer pins have arrived but have NOT been sent to individuals. Please look for an email soon from Eliot Freutel describing your delivery options. We know you'll love them, and hope you think they were worth the wait!

Thank you for the work you do to increase the resilience of California's ecosystems and communities. We appreciate you.