Whidbey Island has always depended on volunteers for many of the better things in life, such as help for kids in school, beach clean-ups, environmental education and something as simple as putting on a Saturday night dance for teens.

The spirit of volunteerism has been outstanding through the years, but now the need is greater than ever. That need was emphasized last week when the Island County commissioners adopted an Adopt-A-Park program in an effort to save parks from being mothballed or even sold. This gives the public a chance to keep parks open before gates have to be padlocked due to lack of maintenance money.

The Island County Parks Department was never a big function of county government, but it did have its own director and several employees charged with taking care of 35 parks on Whidbey Island and 14 others on Camano Island. Today, it’s just a skeleton department folded into another consisting of one worker for each island. Without more help, some parks will obviously have to close.

With the county facing another $1 million budget shortfall next year, volunteers are needed to help with the parks. It’s easy to imagine other volunteer programs as well. People could volunteer eyes for the Sheriff’s Office, help at the senior centers and give the health department a hand if needed.

Since the parks are so appreciated and so obvious, it’s a good place to start a push toward even more volunteerism throughout the county. Many of the parks are tiny and can be adequately maintained by just a few people. Others will take community-wide efforts. Call Joantha Guthrie at 679-7331 to get started. To find a park near you, visit www.islandcounty.net/publicworks/parks/ParkLocations.htm.