There many ways you can volunteer in a national park.
With nearly 400 national parks in the United States, there are plenty of volunteer opportunities, regardless of where you live and what you would like to do. The Volunteer-in-Parks (VIP) program is ideal if you are looking to gain work experience, want to give back to the community or simply want to volunteer because you are taking a sabbatical or are retired.
Campground Host
As a campground host, you greet visitors, maintain visitor information and assist in many capacities, such as providing information on hiking, food storage and park regulations and rules. You also live in the campground with limited utility service, and people staying in the campsite rely on you for assistance at all hours of the night. If you volunteer at least 32 hours a week, government housing is provided at no additional charge; the only thing you pay for is telephone service. Glacier National Park in northwestern Montana, Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming and Denali National Park & Preserve in Alaska offer the opportunity to volunteer as a campground host.
Safety Inspector
As a safety inspector, you are responsible for conducting routine safety inspections of check stations and buildings throughout the park to ensure carbon-monoxide and smoke detectors are working properly. Yellowstone National Park constantly requires safety inspectors.
Backcountry Office Computer Based Permits
A backcountry office computer based permits volunteer aids visitors who have questions, issues permits and answers telephone calls, among other things. Yellowstone National Park offers this volunteer opportunity.
Backcountry Observer
As a backcountry observer, you patrol the backcountry via aircraft or helicopter during the fall hunting season. Your main job is to observe and report on hunting activities and violations. You will not contact the hunters but rather monitor their actions. Denali National Park & Preserve in Alaska offers this volunteer opportunity.
Library Aids
As a library aid, you assist the library staff by performing data entry, copying, cataloging books and providing general assistance to library visitors. Hawai'i Volcanoes in Hawaii often seeks library aids.
Hawksbill Turtle Volunteer
As a Hawksbill turtle volunteer, you do nightly monitoring of nesting and basking turtles. In addition, you record data about turtle habits, tag turtles, rescue trapped turtles and protect them from predators. You must enjoy the outdoors because you will camp out four to six nights a week. This volunteer opportunity is offered by Hawai'i Volcanoes in Hawaii.
Tags: National Park, volunteer opportunity, Yellowstone National, Yellowstone National Park, campground host