View from the Tree Tower at Cox Arboretum MetroPark.
We Are the Difference!
Volunteer 25 hours or more with Five Rivers MetroParks and receive our brand new light-weight, breathable volunteer t-shirt! T-shirts will be distributed quarterly for those volunteers who qualify. View our available opportunities here and our high-priority volunteer needs here and let's Get Out & Give Back to make a difference in our parks this season!
Our gardens need your support, consider signing up for a gardening shift at one of our many garden parks: Cox Arboretum MetroPark, RiverScape MetroPark, Wegerzyn Gardens MetroPark, and more.
Volunteer Positions & Upcoming Opportunities
Summer is a great time to get outside and volunteer! Check out these great volunteer opportunities available this month across your Five Rivers MetroParks! See something that interests you, but have questions? Contact a Volunteer Coordinator at volunteer.services@metroparks.org or call#937-275-7275.
New! Looking for opportunities where we need the most help right now? View our high-need, high-priority opportunities here.
Don't forget to FAN the Volunteer Positions you support. When you FAN a volunteer position you receive a weekly digest email for that position that includes new volunteer opportunities. It also lets your Volunteer Services team know that you are interested in that position and its opportunities.
Ambassadors
Pictured: Ambassador Volunteer Anthony Starr at RiverScape MetroPark.
Ambassador Volunteers share their enthusiasm for Five Rivers MetroParks and help build awareness of our many assets and amenities with diverse audiences at visitor centers, outreach booths, and events throughout the Miami Valley.
Sign up for these great Ambassador Volunteer opportunities in August:
Summer Music Series Ambassador at RiverScape MetroPark
2nd Street Market Ambassador
Roaming Market Greeter at 2nd Street Market
Visitor Center Ambassadors at Cox Arboretum or Carriage Hill MetroParks
Interested in becoming a Visitor Center Ambassador? Visitor Center Ambassador Trainings are coming up on August 9th and September 6th! Sign up for an In-Person Visitor Center Ambassador Training here.
Gardening
Do you know about the benefits of gardening? Research shows gardening can improve an individual's physical, social, and mental health. In fact, Senior adults who garden reduce their risk of dementia by 36%, even more than those who walk every day. Gardening with MetroParks staff and other volunteers is also a great way to meet new people!
So, what does a gardening volunteer do? Gardening volunteers support staff in caring for a variety of gardens throughout our parks. Click here to learn more about what it means to be a gardening volunteer at MetroParks and explore a variety of gardening opportunities available. Be sure to check back often as more shifts and opportunities may be added! Don't forget to "Fan" the Gardening volunteer position to receive the latest updates on garden volunteer opportunities.
Our gardens need your support, consider signing up for a gardening shift at Cox Arboretum MetroPark, Possum Creek MetroPark, RiverScape MetroPark, Wegerzyn Gardens MetroPark, and more.
Interested in sharing the gardens with the public? Consider becoming a Garden Tour Guide! Read more about this exciting opportunity below under Programming.
Pictured: Gardening Volunteer Jenny Andary in the Edible Landscape at Cox Arboretum MetroPark.
Park Maintenance
Trail Maintenance: Come learn, grow, and give back to the trails you love with this exciting trail maintenance volunteer opportunity! Led by our staff Trail Specialist, these trail maintenance opportunities will focus on revitalizing the trail systems in the Twin Valley. Learn alongside like-minded individuals about the why's and how's in building and maintaining a sustainable trail system on these hands-on workdays. View the opportunities available here and sign up to support!
Pictured: Trail Maintenance Volunteers
Carriage Hill Farm Chores: Do you love history and have skills in farming, historic restoration, and farm animal care you want to share? Would you like to discover what life would have been like living on a farm in the 1880s? Make an impact by helping staff in the fields, in the barns, and around the farm at the Daniel Arnold Historic Farm at Carriage Hill MetroPark. View the opportunities available here and sign up to support!
Programming
Program Assistants: Program Assistants are needed to support several fun family programs this season at the 2nd Street Market! These volunteers enhance the market experience by offering interactive activities for visitors such as fresh produce tastings, games, or crafts. View these opportunities and sign up here: 2nd Street Market Program Assistant. Interested in other opportunities at the 2nd Street Market, try searching "2nd Street Market" in Opportunities or simply click here.
Pictured: Program Assistant volunteers at 2nd Street Market
Try Paddlesports: Volunteers are needed to support our Try Paddlesports programs on August 2nd and September 8th! These introductory programs are designed to get participants comfortable on the water and teach basic paddling skills. Most volunteer opportunities do not require paddling experience. Volunteers will be taught by staff how to safely assist participants into life jackets and assist them with getting in and out of the boats, help with setting up and tearing down, as well as program registration and participant check-in. View our paddling program volunteer opportunities here and sign up to support.
Pictured: Try Paddlesports volunteers
Garden Tour Guides: Share your passion and knowledge of gardening and horticulture! Garden Tour Guides are needed at Cox Arboretum MetroPark to share information on seasonal horticultural displays and various amenities throughout the park. Since garden tours at Cox Arboretum often involve volunteers driving visitors on our trams, volunteers will also have to check off on the trams. If this sounds like a volunteer role you would enjoy, check out the Garden Tour Guides volunteer opportunity.
Pictured: Garden Tour Guide Volunteer Shari Hopton giving a tour at Cox Arboretum MetroPark
School Program Naturalist Guides: Not long from now, kids will be going back to school, which means school field trips! Volunteers will be needed to help connect students to nature at a variety of field trip programs. We will be holding 3 volunteer training days for our School Program Naturalists to prepare for the fall field trip season. The training will be focusing on the field trips that get the most requests and the park where those field trips take place. View the training schedule and RSVP below:
Training Day 1:
Friday, September 9th ; 9:00am-3:00pm
Training Day 2:
Friday, September 16th; 9:00am-3:00pm
Training Day 3:
Friday, September 23rd; 9:00am-3:00pm
Pictured: Naturalist Volunteer Berman Layer with a school group at Cox Arboretum MetroPark.
Special Events
Special events and large programs require a great deal of volunteer support to make happen. We're looking for volunteers for Small Farm & Food Fest this Saturday, August 6th. Can you help? This fun farm event is dedicated to eating healthy, small farms, hobby farming, and homesteading skills! A variety of opportunities to support are available including Master Recycler Volunteers, Ambassadors, Program Assistants, and Historic Interpreters. View available opportunities and sign up here.
It's back! The Wagner Subaru Outdoor Experience returns to Eastwood MetroPark Saturday, October 1st, and Sunday, October 2nd! Volunteers will be needed for setup, tear down, event sustainability, action sports, paddlesports, and more! Click here to view available volunteer opportunities and check back as more will be added soon!
SAVE THE DATE: Our annual Make a Difference Day returns this year on Saturday, October 22nd from 9 AM-Noon. Make a Difference Day is a public volunteer service event encouraging community members to get outside and give back! Miami Valley residents of all ages volunteer at various sites throughout Five Rivers MetroParks to help clean up our parks, support habitat restoration efforts, and prepare for the winter season. Projects will GO LIVE in September!
Saturday Opportunities!
Looking for a volunteer opportunity on a Saturday? Check out our Service Saturday Opportunities here and join us in the park to make a difference this August and September! You can filter volunteer opportunities on Get Connected to find weekend opportunities by adding "Weekend" to the Search By Box on the Opportunities page and clicking Search or simply clicking here.
New! Help us Spread the Word!
Help us share all the wonderful ways you can make a difference as a volunteer at Five Rivers MetroParks:
- Print and post this volunteer flyer on community boards at your favorite coffee shop, at the office, or at your school!
- Share the opportunities you support on your favorite social media. Each time you sign up for a volunteer opportunity, Get Connected will ask you if you would like to share that opportunity on social media.
- Plan a single or recurring group volunteer day with your coworkers, community group, club, friends, or neighbors! Request a project here.
New! Get Connected Tech Tip
We are always working to improve our Get Connected site for you, our valued volunteers! This month you'll notice some additions to our left navigation menu to help make finding information and volunteer opportunities easier for you! There is now a "Become a Volunteer" option that walks new volunteers through volunteer orientation and onboarding. There is also quick access to our High Priority Volunteer Opportunities, Adopt-A-Park, Service Saturdays, Make a Difference Day, and The Wagner Subaru Outdoor Experience.
Other great places to find information on Get Connected include:
- The Volunteer Blog
- The Volunteer Training Library
- and on the Our Community Image Rotator located on the Main Page and at the bottom of your Dashboard. Many of these images are linked to great volunteer information and opportunities available throughout the site.
Other site updates:
You may notice a new custom registration question the next time you log in to Get Connected asking you to sign off on our standard volunteer waiver. Once you have done so, the system should not prompt you again. Adding this waiver into the account registration process will make it easier to make opportunities available to public volunteers and teams of volunteers.
Galaxy Digital, the company that hosts our Get Connected volunteer site, has updated its privacy policy for all users including volunteers. You can review the privacy policy here or anytime via a link at the bottom of the Get Connected site.
New! August Volunteer Appreciation
We are here to support YOU, thank you for volunteering!
Volunteer Services
Volunteer Services is available if you have questions or need assistance in signing up.
Contact us: volunteer.services@metroparks.org
#937-275-7275
RSVP for an in-person Help Session with a Volunteer Coordinator here.
Candy Holloway - Horticulture & Sustainability #(937) 275-5006
Yvonne Dunphe - Outdoor Connections Programming #(937) 277-4147
Allie Zimmerman - Parks & Conservation #(937) 274-3176
Janelle Leonard - Business Operations & Visitor Services #(937) 277-5445
Jenny Hymans - Human Resources Manager of Volunteer Services #(937) 567-1413
Mobile app makes it easier to explore the outdoors
MetroParks' mobile app, powered by OuterSpatial, is free and available for both iPhone and Android devices. It includes offline mapping and navigation - and access continues even without a cell phone signal. Use the app to plan your park visit, navigate the trails, take self-guided tours, find amenities and points of interest, and much more.
Stay active outdoors with resources on Nature is Open blog, social media
Five Rivers MetroParks' Nature Is Open blog includes articles about kid-friendly trails, Backyard Bingo cards, nature-based activities, and much more! Follow MetroParks on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for even more resources aimed at helping families connect with nature and stay active outdoors.
