Greetings!

Summer is that wonderful time of the year when school is out, the water is warm, and here on St. John, Emancipation Day and Carnival are times to embrace family, friends, history, and place.

At Friends we shift gears from a successful season of nearly 300 hikes, seminars, boat trips and events, and a trail maintenance season supported by an incredible cadre of 480 volunteers. Thank you for learning with us, engaging with your park, and helping with the hot, sweaty invaluable work of planting and restoring vegetation and maintaining trails and ruins.

Summer on island kicks off our sea turtle nesting season, youth programming for summer camps, Learn To Swim classes, Summer Trail Crew (pictured), and a new addition, the Junior Ocean Explorers program. So much fun and learning!

It is also an important time of annual planning with the National Park Service on how best to prioritize programs and allocate resources. Your membership and donations are critical to our ability to support the protection and preservation of the natural and cultural resources in Virgin Islands National Park. Thank you for sharing our passion for preserving this beautiful corner of the world for generations to come!

May your summer be full of warm sunshine on your face and the joyous feel of sand between your toes wherever you are!

Warmly,
Tonia Lovejoy
Executive Director
Mangrove Planting
Last month the hard working Mangrove Restoration Crew brought the total number of mangroves planted in 2022/23 to a grand total of 1,000! This effort is part of an Iowa State University and Friends of Virgin Islands National Park collaboration on a large-scale mangrove restoration project in the Annaberg and Leinster Bay areas. The goal of the project is to re-establish sustainable mangrove communities that were devastated by Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017.
Junior Ocean Explorers
Junior Ocean Explorers is a hands-on marine science summer program for students in grades 3-6 interested in learning more about our local marine environment and developing water safety skills. This new addition to the Friends youth programming will run from July 24 to July 28.

Junior Ocean Explorers is a collaboration between faculty at the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI), Virgin Islands Marine Advisory Service (VIMAS) and Friends of Virgin Islands National Park to bring a successful and well-established program on St. Thomas and St. Croix to St. John.
Sea Turtle Nesting Season
Two sea turtle nests have been found and protected in the past couple of weeks. In addition, there have been a number of false crawls (dry runs) spotted. What a great start to the season!

Finding nests quickly and protecting them happens thanks to a dedicated cadre of trained volunteers! If you live on island and can commit 1-2 hours per week from July-November patrolling a beach, please contact the program team at vinpturtles@friendsvinp.org.
2022/23 Seminar & Hiking Season Wraps
The 2022/23 season has wrapped! Working alongside the National Park Service, Friends coordinates and manages a full schedule of seminars, hikes, demonstrations, boat trips, and volunteer opportunities with something going on every day from Monday to Friday from November through June.

This season was a busy one with over 275 events, hikes, seminars and some 480 volunteers working on trail and ruins maintenance.

Thank you for joining us! For engaging, learning, and rolling up your sleeves. The schedule for next season will be available in October 2023. See you then!
News From The Park: Online Mooring Payments
Virgin Islands National Park has announced that mariners who use the park’s mooring system can now make their payments online.

Visitors can make these payments by downloading the recreation.gov mobile app at https://www.recreation.gov/mobile-app, and then using the mobile app to scan the QR codes which are located on all of the overnight mooring fee pay stations that are located throughout the park. Mariners can still use the envelope payment system in cases where Internet connectivity is unavailable, but online payments are preferred wherever possible.
Anchorless Park
To protect fragile coral reef and sea grass beds within the Park, the Friends worked with the National Park Service to install over 200 moorings to make it an anchorless park with only three permitted anchorage areas. Friends continues to contribute to the maintenance of the mooring system which does much to help conserve and preserve the wonderful ecosystem on our ocean floor. 
Summer Listening: Stories of People & Place
Here, St.John is an oral history about Virgin Islands National Park and St. John made possible by a grant from the National Endowment For The Humanities. It serves to give voice to the heritage, culture and natural history as told by born St. Johnians and resident scientists.  

These stories recall historical details of the people and the depth of the natural life of the island. Stories that shape this place and make for wonderful summer listening for anyone interested in learning more about St. John.
Business Spotlight
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. This new spotlight section will highlight a business that contributes at least $10,000 a year to support programs that protect and preserve the natural and cultural resources in your park.
Windspree Vacation Homes has been a sponsor of the Annual Beach To Beach Power Swim for over ten years and owner, Karen Baranowski is a 13 year veteran participant in the swim! The company also sponsors the Paddle In The Park event as well as our volunteer t-shirts and Karen can be found volunteering her time at events.

In addition, a number of Windspree villas feature in our Villas For the Park auction. And the visitor information books found in the villa portfolio of Windspree include Friends information helping spread the word on park stewardship and responsible tourism. Thank you Windspree and Karen for your generosity and support!
License Plates
Friends of the Park new license plates feature the endangered sea turtles found in our waters and proceeds support the work we do. Learn more and purchase them online or in the National Park Visitor Center store in Cruz Bay (Mon-Fri 8:15am-1:30pm).

Please note: The old Trunk Bay plates expire on December 31, 2023. Holders must change their plates to new Friends turtle license plates or Virgin Islands plates before the end of 2023.
Useful Park Numbers