Olympic National Park announces volunteer-in-park John L. Goar is the recipient of the national George and Helen Hartzog Award for Outstanding Individual Volunteer Service.

Through his astronomy programs, Goar has introduced more than 7,000 visitors to the park after dark. Since 2010, he has presented 230 night sky programs, even supplying the telescopes and tripod-mounted binoculars for participants to use to view galaxies, star clusters, nebulae, supernova remnants and planets.

He explains the stories behind constellations and the importance of protecting increasingly rare dark skies. He also has recruited and trained other volunteers to assist with the programs. In addition to the 1,500 hours he has devoted to astronomy programs and full moon walks, Goar has served 3,000 hours as a campground host. He goes above and beyond the normal duties of welcoming guests and overseeing the campground by also sorting and recycling thousands of pounds of glass, plastics, paper and cardboard. He also single-handedly tries to control the population of scotch broom, an invasive shrub, in a section of the park.

Astronomy programs with Goar, including telescope programs and full moon hikes, are scheduled at Hurricane Ridge this summer. Learn more about these night sky programs on the park website at www.nps.gov/olym/planyourvisit/nightsky.htm.