Volunteers can enhance their outdoor cooking skills by learning techniques and recipes from the 19th century while helping visitors experience this unique program. This demonstration program will involve preparing a simple flatbread recipe, gathering herbs from the garden, and baking on camp stoves in griddle pans. These skills can be valuable during power outages, camping trips, hiking excursions, and emergencies. The cooking will take in the Maimon Edible Garden at Cox Arboretum as part of the A Place for You programming.
Volunteers contribute their time and talents, adding excitement and perspective to these culinary activities, enhancing the visitor experience. and creating a more engaging program. Program Support Volunteers are welcome and can participate in various entry-level opportunities to support our programs—typically, no expert knowledge is required. However, volunteers who support the cookery programs should have some culinary experience. This opportunity will focus on a 19th-century interpretive demonstration using a mobile wood-fired cook stove to bake flatbreads on the stovetop and in a pipe oven.
Impact
Volunteers enable us to accomplish so much more by lending a hand in simple activities, allowing demonstrators to take a break, or talking with the visitors about the activities while allowing the tasks to be completed.
Tasks
- Assist the staff lead with setup and teardown of the program or demonstration
- Welcome and greet visitors at the activity station
- Gather and distribute materials as needed
- Assist with simple, but essential, culinary tasks
- Assist with maintaining the fire and baking the items
- May assist with documenting the event through photos
- Encourage volunteerism, and help direct to the website for information
Eligibility
This opportunity is open to individual Long-Term volunteers, ages 18 and up.
- GET STARTED: This opportunity requires Volunteer Onboarding (Profile, Volunteer Handbook Signature, and for those 18 and up, an eligible background check). Simply click the blue RESPOND button to begin completing the required qualifications, or click here to learn more about becoming a volunteer.
Additional Notes
- Parking & Meeting Instructions: Click here for a map of Cox Arboretum MetroPark. Volunteers are scheduled to arrive 30 minutes before the program starts. Staff leads will orient volunteers to the day's agenda and other important information.
- Environment & Physical Demands: This program takes place outdoors. Volunteers may participate in some bending, kneeling, reaching, and lifting objects to 10 lbs or more. There will be sharp objects and other items that require you to be careful and work safely in a small space.
- Dress: No Period Apparel Required! Volunteers should dress for the weather, wear their MetroParks name badge, and apparel. A volunteer vest will be available upon arrival if needed. Please remember to bring leather gloves.
- Visit the Historic Interpreter page in our Training Library to see what training is required to become part of the Historic Interpreter volunteers.
Learn more about the Programming opportunities with us on the Volunteer Position page! Have questions or need help getting started? Contact Volunteer Services at volunteer.services@metroparks.org or #937-275-7275 or join us at a Volunteer Open House.
Want to Branch Out? Exploring multiple opportunities is a great way to stay involved, build n
ew skills, and experience different parts of the parks! Consider this opportunity:
