Volunteer Positions
Volunteer opportunities are as varied as the MetroParks themselves
Many volunteer opportunities are flexible enough to fit your schedule. Whether you want to give your time for a year, a month, a week or even a few hours, there’s a place for you as a MetroParks volunteer!
To see our current opportunities, head over to our Get Connected platform to sign up.
Administration
Administrative volunteers work behind the scenes on a variety of clerical projects to ensure that our frontline staff and volunteers have all they need to provide high-quality parks, programs, and services.
Ambassador
Ambassador volunteers share their enthusiasm for Five Rivers MetroParks with diverse audiences at outreach booths, programs, and events throughout the Miami Valley. Ambassadors are often the first friendly face a visitor sees welcoming them to the park and can be counted on to share helpful information and answer a variety of questions.
Animal Care
Animal Care volunteers support staff in caring for farm animals and wildlife animal ambassadors at a variety of our parks. These animals support MetroParks’ mission by connecting the public to nature and education on local history, conservation, and small site sustainability.
Conservation
Protecting open space and natural areas is a priority for Five Rivers MetroParks, which protects nearly 16,000 acres of land — 90 percent of it in its natural state. Conservation volunteers are a part of our regional conservation story by assisting in implementing a variety of natural area management plans.
Gardening
Gardening volunteers support our horticulture and education staff in caring for a variety of gardens throughout our parks. These gardens not only provide beautiful spaces for Miami Valley residents to get outside, explore, and connect to nature, but many also provide fresh local produce to those in need in our community.
Park Maintenance
Five Rivers MetroParks provides clean, safe parks and conservation areas for the public to enjoy year round. Our Park Maintenance volunteers help to manage and sustain 18 beautiful parks, 11 conservation areas, and 160 miles of hike, bike, mountain bike, and horseback-riding trails for park visitors to safely enjoy.
Programming
Five Rivers MetroParks provides a wide variety of high-quality programs to help the public get outside and get connected to nature. Programming volunteers work alongside staff to provide support at programs year-round that help participants master new skills, learn about the natural world, and appreciate the value of open spaces. Programs inspire further exploration of our natural and cultural world and spread the message of conservation in the community through outreach, visiting schools and civic groups, and hosting field trips and tour groups, helping Miami Valley residents develop a personal connection to nature; live active, healthy lifestyles; and have a deep commitment to the environment.
Skilled Trades
Five Rivers MetroParks takes pride in the variety of hands-on, skilled trades opportunities we offer, both in historical and modern-day settings. Our Skilled Trades volunteers help drive our mission forward by assisting with maintenance projects in fabrication, repair, and interpretation.
Special Events
Five Rivers MetroParks provides an array of outdoor events and large programs throughout the year for residents of the Miami Valley to get connected to recreation, music, history, family, and most of all nature. Special Event volunteers serve a critical role in ensuring that each special event or large-scale program runs smoothly from set-up to tear down. Volunteers from a variety of volunteer positions support our special events including Park Maintenance, Conservation, Programming, and Ambassadors. In addition to these long-term volunteers, single-day or episodic volunteers are also recruited to ensure we have enough eyes, ears, and helping hands to make each event safe and friendly for our many visitors.
