To most kids, summertime means the chance to hang out, watch some daytime TV, get a small job like mowing lawns, scooping ice cream or bussing tables. It’s a few months off from school to relax and make a little extra cash.

For some, the aimless days off are just a little too dull, or their parents are determined to see that their children avoid couch potato status. Linda Woodard, director of the Scarborough Marsh Nature Center, hopes that those kids find their way to her. Every summer some of her volunteers leave, but this year she needs more volunteers than ever.

“We don’t have enough people to operate,” said Woodard. “We depend on volunteers to run.”

The Nature Center, located off of Pine Point Road, looks something like those seasonal seafood stops that spring up along the road. Though Woodard doesn’t call her center as “polished” as the one in Freeport, it’s well loved by the community and volunteers alike.

One room is filled with educational toys, displays and equipment either donated or made by people from the community. You could flip through a booklet of questions and answers made by a third-grade class, put together wooden puzzles carved by a resident or learn about the marsh ecosystem from posters drawn by frequent visitors.

“The community makes it,” said Woodard. “It’s definitely a community-based center.”

For volunteer Emily Jorgenson, the community is one of the reasons she likes working at the center.

“I like the people. The people who come here and the staff,” she said. “The staff is great.”

Though Emily just graduated from high school, she doesn’t plan on leaving the marsh anytime soon, something Woodard says happens from year to year.

“They just age out on us,” she said.

Jorgenson finds time off from her job to continue volunteering a couple days a week. She likes the fact that there’s always something hands on to do, from helping curious tourists and residents into canoes for trips down the river to watching the register in the tiny store.

“You’re just really well balanced here,” she said.

Jorgenson started volunteering about six years ago when her mother spotted an add in the paper.

Though the majority of volunteers are teenagers looking for some summertime activity, Woodard has volunteers of all ages.

Two years ago Jorgenson brought her father along and he was hooked. Ever since then John Jorgenson spends his days off helping out and learning about the marsh.

He can now easily point out the difference between marsh birds, how they eat, what they eat and where they like to spend their days.

His house is right on the river, so learning about the marsh is a perk of volunteering.

“I’m learning about my back yard,” he said.

Recent college graduate Brian Dellolio started volunteering in the fifth grade. Though he finished college a year ago, he still finds time to come back to the marsh.

“The staff are all so friendly and fun to work with,” said Dellolio.

His mother made him go the first year, but after that he stuck around for 10 more.

Besides his co-workers, Dellolio likes being outside and helping people appreciate the marsh. The occasional late night or early morning canoe trips aren’t bad either.

“The full moon canoe tour is a great thing. It’s one of the best parts,” he said.

One of the best parts for Woodard is meeting new volunteers and watching them change over the years.

“It’s just so much fun to see them grow up,” she said.

Volunteer John Jorgenson (right) teaches first-time volunteer Joseph Prosack how to wash and store canoes at the end of the day. As the Nature Center closes up for the day, volunteers Joseph Prosack (back) and John Jorgenson lift canoes up into the racks.On Joseph Prosack’s (front) first day as a volunteer he starts by hauling the canoes up onto the shore.