Parks, Land & Water Volunteer Portal

Assist with unique projects and show off your organizational or creative skills! These opportunities vary widely and occur throughout the year. 

At these summer workdays, we will hand pull or use hand tools to remove herbaceous invasive plants in prairies and oak savannas. These workdays are staff-led and occur during the week, typically on Tuesday and Friday mornings. View our Invasive Weed Removal webpage for more information.  

These workdays are typically held by our volunteer Certified Land Stewards with the exception of staff-led Walking Iron Workdays. Specific tasks vary and may include invasive brush removal, invasive weed removal, seed collection, or seed sowing. Workday schedules vary by property and may be held on weekdays or weekends.

These opportunities are great for volunteers who enjoy working with youth, assisting or leading environmental education programs, and providing support to those programs. Volunteer activities primarily occur in the summer, but opportunities may occur throughout the year. 

We rely on our many Friends Groups and Partners to help support individual properties throughout the system. View our Friends Groups and Partners webpage to learn about who these groups are, what they do, and how you can get involved to help support your favorite park! 

Our gardening volunteers are incredibly important in maintaining gardens and green spaces around Dane County. These opportunities typically occur throughout the growing season and may be led by staff, lead volunteers, or Friends Groups.

There are many ways that volunteers can work independently at Dane County Parks and with certain programs within the broader Land & Water Resources Department. Volunteer opportunities are available for everyone regardless of initial skill level, experience, or time availability.

We rely on our park maintenance volunteers and campground hosts to create a welcoming park environment for everyone! These opportunities primarily occur in the spring, summer, and fall. 

We host a variety of trainings for our volunteers throughout the year. Come join us and learn something new! 

*** Note: Some of our trainings, such as our Chainsaw Safety trainings, are fee-based and have a different registration process. 

These opportunities are meant to be welcoming spaces specifically for youth volunteers where the only adults present are chaperones and event leaders.