Opportunity Details

Volunteers serve a vital role at Fernbank and are essential to our operation, and are a great way for clubs, community groups, and companies to build teamwork as well as support our community.

There are a variety of volunteer opportunities available. Fernbank can make available opportunities for volunteers to participate in science enrichment programming on a Family Discovery Day, where volunteers would lead science experiments and activities. There are seven Discovery Days throughout the year, each with a different theme including dinosaurs, animals, forestry, and adventures in science. Each of these opportunities would be in a three-hour increment. For those interested in longer-term volunteer commitments, Fernbank’s adult volunteer program is an opportunity for adults of all ages to be directly involved in museum operations, interpretation, and more. Adult volunteers must commit to 50 hours of service annually. In order to be eligible, volunteers must be 18 years of age or older, complete an application, attend a required orientation and training session and submit to a background check. These opportunities include Customer Service, Exhibit Facilitation and Interpretation, live animal care, and more.

For a larger group of volunteers, Fernbank has service opportunities in Fernbank Forest. An added benefit is participants will be able to learn about native woodland ecosystems and current and future ecological restoration efforts on Fernbank's campus, as well as assist with restoration activities such as removing invasive plant species and replanting native plant species. Our team can work with your group to schedule one event or ongoing dates. Projects vary based upon the season, and include but are not limited to removing non-native invasive species, installing new native plants, removing trash or plant debris, blowing leaves, trail maintenance, and cleaning signage. There are many benefits to volunteering in Fernbank Forest, including:
- Volunteers will have the opportunity to meet and build relationships with the Fernbank Forest staff while contributing to the Museum’s ongoing conservation efforts.
- Volunteers will have the opportunity to learn more about our native plants and wildlife.
- Volunteers will receive complimentary admission to the Museum on the date of their service.

Opportunity Details

Join us for the Global Tele-mapathon 2024, a 24-hour virtual mapping and fundraising event happening on December 4th, in recognition of Giving Tuesday and International Volunteer Day. Come and listen to guest speakers from around the world during a 2h interactive session with HOT staff, map, and have fun with trivia and games!

Volunteers from around the world will come together to map underserved communities, creating life-saving open data that supports disaster response, humanitarian aid, and sustainable development. No prior experience is needed—just a passion for helping others and a willingness to learn! Training and support will be provided to guide you through the mapping process using Mapswipe.

Your contributions will directly support organizations and local governments worldwide to ensure critical resources reach communities in need. By volunteering your time, you’ll be making a global impact from the comfort of your own home. Help us map crucial areas to enable communities and save lives.

Register online here: https://hotosm.us9.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=5191e27b207136970f2a9ec1b&id=c438e104e3

Available Shifts

Shift Name	Signup Max	Start	End
Session 1: 10:00-12:00 UTC +10 (Australia, Guam, Micronesia, Papua New Guinea): 00:00-02:00 UTC	no limit	n/a	n/a
Session 2: 10:00-12:00 UTC +8 (Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore): 02:00-04:00 UTC	no limit	n/a	n/a
Session 3: 10:00-12:00 UTC +6 (Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar): 04:00-06:00 UTC	no limit	n/a	n/a
Session 4: 11:00-13:00 UTC +5 (India, Nepal): 06:00-08:00 UTC	no limit	n/a	n/a
Session 5: 11:00-13:00 UTC +3 (Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Tanzania): 08:00-10:00 UTC	no limit	n/a	n/a
Session 6: 11:00-13:00 UTC +1 (Angola, DRC, Denmark, France, Germany, Morocco): 10:00-12:00 UTC	no limit	n/a	n/a
Session 7: 12:00-14:00 UTC 0 (Côte D'Ivoire, Ghana, Iceland, Ireland, Mali, UK): 12:00-14:00 UTC	no limit	n/a	n/a
Session 8: 13:00-15:00 UTC -1 (Portugal, Cape Verde): 14:00-16:00 UTC	no limit	n/a	n/a
Session 9: [SPANISH] 12:00-14:00 UTC -4 (Chile, Caribbean Islands): 16:00-18:00 UTC	no limit	n/a	n/a
Session 10: 13:00-15:00 UTC -5 (EST, USA, Cuba, Brazil): 18:00-20:00 UTC	no limit	n/a	n/a
Session 11: 14:00-16:00 UTC -6 (CST, USA, Mexico, Canada): 20:00-22:00 UTC	no limit	n/a	n/a
Session 12: 14:00-16:00 UTC -8 (PST, USA, Mexico, Canada): 22:00-00:00 UTC	no limit	n/a	n/a

Opportunity Details

Volunteer Opportunity: Plant and Nurture a Sapling – Your Personal Connection with Nature

Join the green movement from the comfort of your home! This opportunity is designed for environmentally aware corporate professionals to make a lasting impact by planting and nurturing a sapling—all from your own space.

How It Works:
1. Home Delivery of Tools and Online video intro
- Everything you need—sapling, soil, tools, and care guide—will be delivered straight to your home.
- You’ll also get access to a 30-minute online intro session covering how to plant and care for your sapling.

2. Your Role:
- Plant at Home: Sow the seed in your backyard, garden, or just your table top if not a balcony.
- Nurture with Ease:Follow a simple care plan with watering, pruning, and protection tips.

3. Support & Tracking:
- Use any online platform to track your sapling’s growth, get reminders, and receive expert advice.
- Monitor your sapling’s environmental impact, like carbon absorption, over time.

4. Team Challenge:
- Compete with colleagues in a “Tree Nurturing Challenge,” growing the healthiest tree and contributing to a greener workplace.
- Earn recognition for your efforts, with certificates and eco-friendly rewards.

Why Join?
- Personal Impact: Grow a sapling, grow a greener planet—all from your home.
- Team Building:Engage in a fun and meaningful way to foster corporate responsibility.
-Eco Legacy:Be part of the solution by creating a lasting environmental contribution.

Ready to plant your personal connection with nature? Sign up today and start nurturing a greener future from your own space!

Available Shifts

Shift Name	Signup Max	Start	End
General	no limit	n/a	n/a

Opportunity Details

Fazer atividades divertidas e desenvolver habilidades socioemocionais em crianças e adolescentes. Criar as atividades, utilizando a Aprendizagem Baseada em Projetos como ferramenta para desenvolver as habilidades socioemocionais das crianças e de si próprios. Empatia, colaboração, pensamento crítico, criatividade, autoconsciência, são algumas das habilidades que podem ajudar as crianças a serem agentes de transformação de seu meio.
Atendemos crianças e adolescentes entre 7 a 17 anos em situação de vulnerabilidade
Os Centros Sociais de Itaka-Escolápios têm como proposta o atendimento de públicos socialmente vulneráveis, em situação de risco ou submetidos a violências e violações de direitos, tendo como público prioritário Crianças e Adolescentes. Nosso projeto recebe crianças no contraturno escolar.

Opportunity Details

Get Your Hands Dirty In Our Permaculture Gardens

Are you a born gardener? If so you will love volunteering in our garden. We are always in need of extra hands. There is literally always something to do. You will get to work with our resident permaculture experts developing systems and testing and trialling new techniques. The garden is a learning bonanza!!!

Opportunity Details

Make a Difference in Your Community!

The Spring Rivers Foundation Outdoor Education Program provides hands-on learning experiences for students through field trips and other outdoor activities.

Field trips and teaching tools connect students, teachers, and parents with the natural world, strengthen a sense of community, and promote physical activity.

Join the Fun and Become a Volunteer Docent Today!

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This fall, volunteers will help lead educational hikes and field trips for local students in the Intermountain Area!

The hikes will take place between 8:30am and 12:30pm on October 8th and 10th, with an optional practice hike offered on October 1st. Volunteers may sign up to help lead hikes for one or both field trip days.

Spring Rivers Foundation provides new docents with all necessary information, materials, and training, so no specific skills are required when you sign up! Docents must only be enthusiastic about the education of our local youth!

Available Shifts

Shift Name	Signup Max	Start	End
Hike Leader (co-lead hiking group with another volunteer)	8	n/a	n/a
Hike Leader (co-lead hiking group with another volunteer)	8	n/a	n/a
Practice Hike (to become familiar with the trail prior to the trip)	16	n/a	n/a

Opportunity Details

Commemorate Orca Recovery Day (ORD) 2024 with Pierce Conservation District on Saturday, October 19th, and join your neighbors from 10 AM - 12 PM as we plant this depaved space in Tacoma's Hilltop. Volunteers removed pavement from the site this May and now it's time to green it up! Come help install native and pollinator-friendly plants, meet neighbors, and make new friends as part of Orca Recovery Day!

ORD is an intentional day of action to build awareness and make a difference for Puget Sound’s local orca pod, the Southern Resident Killer Whales. Partner organizations host stewardship volunteer events around the region to promote healthy habitat for salmon, the Southern Residents' primary food source.

Removing concrete and replanting with beneficial plants not only supports wildlife such as insects and birds, but also provides a stormwater benefit by increasing the amount of planted area for rain and stormwater to soak into. As more water soaks into the ground and is used by plants with deep roots, less urban stormwater is able to carry pollutants into the storm drains and out into Puget Sound. This helps us keep our waters healthy for orcas!

This project was spearheaded by neighbors local to the space and was awarded one of Pierce Conservation District's 2024 Green Stormwater Mini Grants, with services provided by the City of Tacoma.

Registration Required - Use the link below to sign up:
https://forms.zohopublic.com/pierceconservationdistrict/form/TriangleDepaveVolunteerSignUp10192024/formperma/GtHsvveHf9zft_S5xJNzB0WjSM2iAcAvqfsx4ifl_xs


Youth Policy: Youth under the age of 14 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

Available Shifts

Shift Name	Signup Max	Start	End
Orca Recovery Day @ Triangle Depave Planting	20	n/a	n/a

Opportunity Details

Join Pierce Conservation District on Saturday, October 19th, from 9 AM - 12 PM for an Orca Recovery Day (ORD) work party and event at DeCoursey Park in Puyallup. ORD is an intentional day of action to build awareness and make a difference for Puget Sound’s local orca pod, the Southern Resident Killer Whales. Partner organizations host stewardship volunteer events around the region to promote healthy habitat for salmon, the Southern Residents' primary food source.

Volunteer for 3 hours at Puyallup's Peck Property, attached to Decoursey Park, and enjoy live music and games as you help to protect and restore your local ecosystem for wildlife like Salmon, Birds, and yes, even Orcas. Activities include caring for existing plants and removing invasive species such as Himalayan blackberry, English ivy and thistle as well as installing new native plants on site. This work supports water quality, our local wildlife, and pollinators. Exact meeting location will be provided after signing up.


What will volunteers be doing at the event?

While the exact tasks at hand vary, our projects focus on improving the open spaces, forests, and parks in our local cities. Healthy ecosystems and thriving forests are vital to our community because they absorb and naturally filter rain water, produce clean oxygen, provide living spaces for wildlife, and create a place for people to connect with the outdoors.

In order to create healthy forests and riparian zones, the work can include:

- Caring for existing plantings
- Installing new native plants
- Removing invasive species such as English ivy, Himalayan blackberry, and reed canary grass.



For your safety and comfort please bring:

- Clothing that can get dirty
- Long pants and sleeves
- Sturdy shoes (closed toed shoes required, no sandals or flats)
- Rain gear and warm layers (the event will happen rain or shine)
- Full water bottle!


Registration Required - Please use link below to sign up:
https://zfrmz.com/B5DTCoV39XKsWGwaKd0O


Youth Policy: Youth under the age of 14 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

Available Shifts

Shift Name	Signup Max	Start	End
Orca Recovery Day @ DeCoursey Park	30	n/a	n/a

Opportunity Details

Join Pierce Conservation District from 9 AM - 12 PM on Saturday, October 19th, for the annual Orca Recovery Day (ORD) work party at Bradley Lake Park in Puyallup. ORD is an intentional day of action to build awareness and make a difference for Puget Sound’s local orca pod, the Southern Resident Killer Whales. Partner organizations host stewardship volunteer events around the region to promote healthy habitat for salmon, the Southern Residents' primary food source.

Activities include caring for existing plants and removing invasive species such as Himalayan blackberry and thistle. This work supports water quality, our local wildlife, and pollinators. Exact meeting location will be provided after signing up.


What will volunteers be doing at the event?

While the exact tasks at hand vary, our projects focus on improving the open spaces, forests, and parks in our local cities. Healthy ecosystems and thriving forests are vital to our community because they absorb and naturally filter rain water, produce clean oxygen, provide living spaces for wildlife (like salmon!), and create a place for people to connect with the outdoors.


In order to create healthy forests and riparian zones, the work can include:

- Caring for existing plantings
- Removing invasive species such as English ivy & Himalayan blackberry


For your safety and comfort please bring:

- Clothing that can get dirty
- Long pants and sleeves
- Sturdy shoes (closed toed shoes required, no sandals or flats)
- Rain gear and warm layers (the event will happen rain or shine)
- Full water bottle!

Registration Required - Use the link below to sign up:
https://zfrmz.com/SVa71DOAdwYgIbab72o9


Youth Policy: Youth under the age of 14 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

Available Shifts

Shift Name	Signup Max	Start	End
Orca Recovery Day @ Bradley Lake Park	25	n/a	n/a

Opportunity Details

Join Pierce Conservation District on Saturday, October 19th, for the annual Orca Recovery Day (ORD) work party at South Prairie Creek Preserve near Orting. ORD is an intentional day of action to build awareness and make a difference for Puget Sound’s iconic orca, the Southern Resident Killer Whales. Partner organizations host stewardship volunteer events around the region to promote healthy habitat for salmon, the Southern Residents' primary food source.

South Prairie Creek Preserve is one of the most productive salmon runs in the area and greatly contribute to supporting (and feeding!) our resident orcas.

The main event will take place from 9 AM - 12 PM and participants will plant a mix of trees and shrubs throughout the site to enhance salmon habitat along the creek. Child-friendly activities will be available and attendees are invited to join an optional 8 AM Bird Walk with PCD's resident Birder to appreciate and learn about the Preserve's thriving avian community.


What To Expect:
- Physical work - volunteers will plant many trees and shrubs
- Uneven terrain with wet and/or muddy ground
- A port-a-potty will be available on site
- Parking is limited; please carpool with your party, if possible
- Tools, gloves, and training will be provided (volunteers are welcome to bring their own gloves)


What To Bring:
- Dress for the weather and wear clothing that can get dirty. Please wear long pants and sleeves, sturdy, closed-toe shoes (no sandals or flats), a water-resistant jacket, and dress in layers.
- A full water bottle!

Registration Required - Use the following link to sign up:
https://zfrmz.com/F09ogV5UBrQ7d2aTIwJ2

Youth Policy: Youth under the age of 14 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

Available Shifts

Shift Name	Signup Max	Start	End
Orca Recovery Day @ SPCP	45	n/a	n/a