How To Find Outdoor Volunteer Opportunities
Outdoor and environmental volunteer opportunities are all around you! Volunteering is an amazing way to have a positive impact, try something new, and get your foot in the door to land an outdoor job.
There are volunteer opportunities for everyone - whether you want to give back to your local public lands, work with animals at a wildlife sanctuary, or educate your community on policy decisions, the resources below will help you find exactly what you’re looking for.
But first, why should you volunteer?
Volunteering is a low commitment way to try something new and discover what types of jobs you may enjoy (and just as importantly, what you don’t enjoy)!
It’s a great way to gain the experience and qualifications needed to land environmental jobs! The skills that you gain while volunteering are amazing additions to future job applications and will show that you’re committed to the industry. When you’re ready to leverage your volunteer experience to land a job, check out my free webinar on How to Land Your First Outdoor Job.
Volunteer events are incredible networking opportunities! You can connect with like-minded community members and employees at the organization you’re volunteering for. If you’ve always wanted to work for a specific nonprofit, get your foot in the door by volunteering first!
Giving back feels good.
It’s fun!
So, let’s get into it. Here are 8 ways to discover environmental and outdoor volunteer opportunities!
Volunteer with a Local City, County, or Park District
Local government can be a beautiful thing! Your local city or county may host stewardship days, park clean ups, or neighborhood improvements events. These are incredible ways to network with fellow community members and give back to the places you know and love.
Volunteer with a Local Nonprofit
Sign up to receive email notifications from your favorite local nonprofit. Nonprofits in the outdoor, environmental, and conservation sectors love hosting volunteer events! Events vary depending on the organization, but you may find yourself participating in community gardening, trail maintenance, river clean ups, letter writing, or event coordination. Even statewide organizations may host events in your area!
Nonprofits often rely on volunteers and community engagement to accomplish their missions. So, even if they don’t have any events available to the public, send them an email to ask how you can get more involved!
Get Your Foot in the Door with a Large Nonprofit
Check if your favorite national (or international) organization has a local chapter near you. Nonprofits like The Nature Conservancy, National Audubon Society, or Sierra Club may have local volunteer opportunities in your backyard.
Wondering which types of jobs are in your future after volunteering? Pop on over to one of these articles to get started: Outdoor Jobs That Don’t Require A Degree or 10 Entry Level, Outdoor Jobs.
Check out a Conservation District
Conservation districts typically operate as nonprofits or special government districts. Once again, sign up for their email lists to get notified of volunteer opportunities, events, and even future job postings!
Join a Recreation Group
Do you live in a popular area for outdoor recreation? If so (and even if not!), there may be local outdoor events that you can participate in. Think biking organizations, running groups, ski teams, and bird watchers; these are just a few of the recreation groups that may exist near you. Groups that explore and enjoy public lands tend to be more likely to volunteer for public land stewardship events. And, if they haven’t gotten their feet wet volunteering quite yet, you are in a perfect position to introduce it!
Patagonia Action Works is an incredible platform to connect you with local organizations that are doing great things in the environmental space. You can connect with nonprofits, view upcoming events, and find skilled volunteer opportunities. Unfortunately, this isn’t a comprehensive database, but it is a wonderful starting point.
Catchafire provides skilled volunteer opportunities - perfect for gaining or advancing your qualifications for future job applications! The site isn’t specific to the outdoor industry, but you can filter opportunities by cause and skill to find your perfect fit.
WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) & HelpX
WWOOF (pronounced “woof”) provides international opportunities for volunteers in organic farming, gardening, and homesteading. Every WWOOF opportunity varies, but many of them provide food and housing for volunteers in exchange for work around the property.
HelpX provides similar farm opportunities throughout the world, plus the chance to volunteer at various lodging locations like boats, hostels, and hotels.
Both WWOOF and HelpX are perfect for travelers (especially budget travelers!) and people who are looking for longer-term arrangements. I WWOOF’ed while backpacking through Central America in 2016 and it is among one of my favorite volunteer experiences ever!
Volunteering is amazing for so many reasons. The fuzzy feeling when you know you’ve had a positive impact, the networking and relationships that come with it, the skill building…the list goes on and on.
No matter your reason for volunteering, get out there!
