Zoomerang Visits "The Rock": Volunteering at Alcatraz National Park

As part of our committment to the community, several members of the Zoomerang team volunteered with the Golden Gate National Parks last week to help restore the historic gardens at Alcatraz Island, America's most infamous prison. Alcatraz began as a Civil War-era military fortress and later became a federal penitentiary in 1934 housing some of the nation's most malicious killers and psychotic criminals including George "Machine Gun" Kelly and Al Capone. Alcatraz officially closed in 1963.

Today, the island's facilities are operated by the National Park Service as part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and are open to tours. Visitors can reach the island by the nation's first hybrid propulsion ferry from Pier 33 here in San Francisco.

In addition to its colorful past, Alcatraz is a bit less known for its extraordinary gardens which reflect a rich history of horticulture and gardening ideas spanning many different eras. Since 2003, garden volunteer crews have been working each week to re-establish the floriferous Victorian cottage gardens, the terraced cutting beds, and environmentally sensitive attempts at erosion control.

The Zoomerang team’s activities include weeding, pruning, and planting. Throughout the project our guide introduced us to the stories of the gardens and we were able to visit some areas not accessible to the public. As an added bonus, we arrived on Alcatraz before other visitors and we experienced the island during the most tranquil time of day.

Now that the team is back at the Zoomerang offices, we would like to remind you that online surveys save countless numbers of trees every year.  We are proud to empower millions of people with an easy to use online survey tool which eliminates the need for paper surveys. Last but certainly not least, we would also like to give a big shout out to the Golden Gate National Parks and their dedication to preserving our beautiful national parks here in California. We had such a great time, and we look forward to volunteering again very soon.