FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 16 March 2009

Media Contact: Ann Burke, ICF Director of Public Relations

608-356-9462 x147; This E-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

YOU’VE SEEN THE CRANES IN THE NATIONAL NEWS – NOW BECOME INVOLVED WITH THE INTERNATIONAL CRANE FOUNDATION

The International Crane Foundation (ICF) is looking for volunteers to assist with our 2009 summer programs. Volunteer Naturalists are needed to help share the story of the cranes with our 25,000 annual visitors. To learn more about this unique and exciting opportunity, you are invited to attend two Saturday training sessions at ICF on March 28 and April 4, 2009 from 9 am – 4:30 pm. Lunch, snacks and beverages will be provided. If you are unable to attend these sessions, ICF staff will schedule appointments at your convenience.

If you are interested in trying something new and inspirational, please consider becoming an ICF volunteer. You will get an unprecedented behind-the-scenes look at a globally-recognized conservation organization. You will learn how ICF is working to build partnerships, provide educational opportunities, protect wetlands and grasslands, and address poverty alleviation in communities living adjacent to important crane areas. At the same time, you will hone your speaking skills, meet people from around the world, contribute directly to conservation, and have fun!

When asked about their volunteer experience at ICF, Clyde and Dolores Jaworski said, “Volunteering for ICF turned our retirement from ordinary to extraordinary. Our lives were enriched by the friends we made at ICF and the connections we developed with other environmental organizations. We highly recommend it.”

To register for the training sessions or for more information about volunteering at ICF, contact Korie Klink: 608-356-9462 x115; email: This E-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Co-founded by Dr. George Archibald in 1973, ICF works worldwide to protect cranes and the wetlands, grasslands and other ecosystems on which they depend. ICF works on four continents in over 30 countries important for cranes and is best known for its celebrated work to restore a migrating population of the endangered Whooping Crane in the eastern United States. ICF consistently earns high ratings from Charity Navigator, America's largest independent evaluator of charities. Our headquarters in Baraboo, Wisconsin, are open annually to the public from April 15 to October 31 and showcase the world’s only complete collection of the 15 cranes species. Our campus offers visitors a unique opportunity to learn about cranes and their fragile ecosystems through live crane exhibits, an interactive education center, guided and self guided tours, and nature trails winding through a restored Wisconsin landscape.  

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