Photo Courtesy Of Lassen Park Foundation

Zach Brunner, 7, of Los Altos has been named an honorary member of the Lassen Park Foundation Board of Directors.

The Lassen Park Foundation appointed 7-year-old Zach Brunner of Los Altos, a first-grader at Covington School, an honorary member of its board of directors.

Instead of asking for birthday presents the past two years, Zach requested that friends and family donate money to benefit Lassen Volcanic National Park in Tehama County.

“At its January meeting, the Lassen Park Foundation Board of Directors voted unanimously to appoint Zach to an honorary directorship on the board, both because of his unselfish generosity and because of his passion for Lassen,” board Chairman John Koeberer said.

Koeberer emphasized that the appointment is “real.”

“Zach is listed on our board and will be invited to attend any board meeting or foundation function that he wishes,” he said. “We are particularly interested in hearing his thoughts on things we can do to make the park experience better for kids, to better reach at-risk children with our summer youth camping program, and how what we do to help Lassen Volcanic can be improved.”

With this year’s donation, Zach wrote in a letter to park rangers, “At my birthday party, I raised $255 for the park. I hope you can use it to finish the trail to the top of the volcano. I hope I can visit Lassen, Manzanita Lake and Crags Lake this summer!”

“It is extremely heartwarming to see a child so moved by the national park that he would give up his birthday presents to help with its preservation,” said Lassen Volcanic National Park Superintendent Darlene Koontz. “It was an extraordinary act, by an extraordinary boy.”

Koontz added that the park is in the process of converting its Crags Campground for use by youth groups and will seek Zach’s input on its plan.

“We’ll be asking Director Brunner to tell us what he thinks of our plans,” she said. “I look forward to hearing his wise counsel.”

Founded in 1916, the park is located in northeast California, 40 miles east of Redding.

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