Check out how you can get involved! We have volunteer opportunities that fit any interest or schedule. Please note that some volunteer opportunities listed below may still be on hold due to Covid-19 or full due to popularity.
If you have questions about any of the roles please reach out to volunteer@greatparks.org!
Do you have a love for trails? Adopt the one that has a soft spot in your heart. Adopt-a-trail volunteers are active March - November, and in charge of collecting litter and removing small debris from the trail, as well as ensuring that drainage structures are functioning, so that water is flowing and trail erosion is minimized. Bi-weekly trail checks and routine reports to staff of large debris or other trail issues are also an important part of this active volunteer role.
Our animal ambassadors - amphibians, mammals, reptiles and birds-of-prey that engage and educate the public, could use your tender loving care. Volunteers are needed to feed, clean, and interact with each program animal according to its unique feeding and care schedule. Animals are housed in the Visitor Center, so you must be available during regular business hours, which fluctuate seasonally.
Monitor the Shaker Trace aquaculture ponds at Miami Whitewater Forest and care for fish that will be used to stock the lakes and ponds of Great Parks. Training occurs in the spring and fish feeding lasts from spring until fall.
Our barnyard animal ambassador - cows, chickens pigs, llamas, horses and more - are always looking for housekeepers that are can give them and the farm some TLC. Volunteers are needed to feed, clean and care for the animals and their farm home.
Help to track the reproductive success of the bluebirds that make Great Parks their home. You will walk grassy fields and trails to monitor and record data from your assigned nesting boxes. After each nesting cycle you will remove old nesting material to allow a repeat performance! You will also inform coordinator and/or repair damaged boxes as needed. Just like the Cincinnati Reds, there is a provided spring training.
Does a few weeks going to sleep by a crackling campfire and waking up with coffee among the trees call your name? Pull your RV into Winton Woods Campground for a volunteer host position! You'll be the friendly eyes and ears of the campground, and ensure the campground facilities stay clean, fresh and restocked to make sure the happy campers stay that way. Hosts must commit to a two-week camping period and provide their own RV. Host volunteers must also attend additional training.
Do you like meeting new people and talking about Great Parks? There are multiple opportunities to be a park ambassador. Ambassadors attend special events and festivals throughout the city, answer questions, and pass out literature and swag. Events range from health fairs and sustainability events to community festivals and marathons.
If you know which is the business-end of a hammer and enjoy carpentry, building projects, and "fixin'stuff" in general, this is the job for you. In addition to construction, there are also opportunities to let your inner Michaelangelo shine while painting and staining. You could be the go to person for any number of special projects or bring some ideas of your own!
If you have a green thumb or just enjoy playing in the dirt, this is the volunteer role for you! Help to make the Great Parks landscaped and garden areas flourish by performing necessary garden chores like planting, weeding, watering, trimming, and mulching. A variety of gardens need your help here, including butterfly, herb, and rain gardens. Hours are flexible.
Do you enjoy spending time on golf course? Volunteer alongside our golf pros and others that are passionate about the sport. Don't just chase one little white ball, chase hundreds of them while "ball-popping - retrieving golf balls that have been sunk in the mud. If you're looking for a more individual, flexible role you could "adopt-a hole", helping to fill divots, pick up broken tees or litter, or clear grass clippings from the fairway. Knowledge of golf etiquette is required.
Many volunteers are needed to help Meadow Links & Golf Academy partner with the First Tee Program, an international youth development organization introducing the game of golf and its inherent values to young people. The First Tee helps shape the lives of young people from all walks of life by reinforcing values like integrity, respect and perseverance through the game of golf.
Or you can help with the In-Reach Golf program for juniors ages 9-13. We use the medium of golf and other related activities to help young people come together and experience skill development, recreation, competition and worthy use of leisure time. The program is provided free of charge in the month of June.
Share your passion for the sport you love by helping with clinics and tournaments for both children and adults. Volunteers are needed to sign in participants, help supervise for safety, and assist with scoring. You may need to walk the course or drive a golf cart. Basic knowledge of the game is helpful but not essential.
PGA HOPE (Helping Our Patriots Everywhere) is a golf program for all military veterans, designed to enhance their rehabilitation and assimilation back into society. Free instruction by PGA instructors are provided to veterans. What better way for you to honor these persons than to volunteer to help with this golf program or its end of year tournament.
Use your love of golf for good! Volunteers are needed to make sure Special Olympics players successfully complete the course, while having a good time doing it. Volunteers should enjoy interacting with special athletes and have a basic knowledge of the game of golf. For volunteers 14 years of age & older.
You will be working alongside interpreters as they bring the public closer to the natural world found in and around Great Parks. Topics are varied and include subjects ranging from butterflies, bugs, and birds to plants, stars and the environment. If you have a sense of curiosity and wonder about nature, you have a gift to share. Although we don't have "lions and tigers and bears, oh my!" we do have some amazing wildlife and natural wonders in Ohio that you can learn about with others!
Whose POP? MYPOP! Also known as "my piece of the park", this is an opportunity for volunteers to take special care of their own area in the Highfield Discovery Garden. This 12-acre, magical garden is filled with nooks and crannies that are especially enticing for little ones (and the young at heart), including a fairy garden, a dragon with eyes that light up, a frog and toad garden, wizard's garden, miniature-scale trains, vegetable garden, morph garden(caterpillars galore), grandma's scent garden and a butterfly garden.
In March through November, you'll be the eyes and ears for your assigned park. You will accept and record comments from guests, clear minor obstructions and collect litter. You will monitor and report any major problem such as erosion, obstructed culverts, and deteriorated non-natural elements such as signage, bridges, etc. We need your good judgement to reports any unsafe conditions that are dangerous to park guests, such as broken handrails or splintered trees, so that we can continue to keep our parks safe, green and clean!
Are you a wild(flower) child? Enjoy the camaraderie at Shaker Trace Seed Nursery, 51 acres of native plant beds near Miami Whitewater Forest. Volunteers help to sort seeds, weed, plant and grow the next generation of plants for prairie and wetland restoration efforts throughout Great Parks. Who knows - the milkweed you help grow may save a monarch!
You can be part of the special events teams that bring fun times to the community by jumping in to help with events that range from car shows and Christmas 5ks to Maple Sugaring Days and Mother's Day brunches.
Be a STEW(ard) of the environment for future generations. If you are interested in preserving and protecting habitat at Great Parks, then the STEW crew is for you! Help with vital work such as invasive plant removal, planting and maintaining trees, collecting native seeds and more!
How healthy are the small streams that contribute to the Great Parks watershed? Find out as you participate as a stream monitor once a month for your assigned stream(s). You will learn to identify and record the invertebrate life forms in a small sample area using a dip net. The numbers and kinds of these creatures are the gauge of the overall health of the stream. These streams are the headwaters that provide the filtering system for our clean water and you may have to traverse rough terrain to reach them. You will need to dress for outdoor work and be prepared for sun and insects.
If you are interested in trails, not just hiking but what goes into creating and maintaining them, then you may be interested in some upcoming opportunities.
Trailblazers is a new volunteer program open to people from 14 to 140 year of age. Projects will take place every other month. It is part education and part hands on. Many of our trails have been around for a long time, probably longer than I’ve been around. These trails get a lot of use, and as much as that is a great thing, the trails are showing their age. But, with your help, we can turn the clock back.
Some of the tasks will include:
If you are a small-scale train buff, join our small-but-mighty team of engineers! Four outdoor miniature trains run along tracks through a kid-sized world of wonder. Help keep those trains and imaginations chugging along.
If you're a people person and like to be surrounded by the best nature gifts in the city, you'll enjoy volunteering at one of our Visitor Centres or Nature's Niche stores! You will assist guests with purchases and questions, operate the cash register, answer phones, and do light housekeeping that will help to make the Niche shine! For volunteers 18 years of age and older.
To preserve and protect natural resources and to provide outdoor recreation and education in order to enhance the quality of life for present and future generations.
