Volunteer
The Volunteer Program’s mission is to guide and educate local citizens and community members of ways in which we can observe, preserve, protect, and enhance Patuxent River Park’s natural and cultural resources to further enrich the quality of life for current and future generations.
Benefits of volunteering
- Develop new skills
- Explore a new career path
- Connect with others
- Give back to your community
- Enrichment of the environment
- Keeps you physically active
- Park discounts
- Subscription to our newsletter
We value the dedication, hard work, and passion of our volunteers, and strive to create opportunities for all ages and skill-sets. Our opportunities vary from one-day service-learning projects to ongoing conservation projects that occur over a longer term. Other projects are accepted by proposal. See volunteer opportunities below:
Stewardship is an important component of volunteering. Patuxent River Park strives to create outstanding environmental stewards who are able to translate the knowledge gained through volunteering to their community. Projects include:

- Invasive Species Removal
- Native Pollinator Gardening
- River Clean Ups
- Wildlife Cameras Monitoring
- Contributing writer to eNewsletter
Patuxent River Park invites volunteers to help study various ongoing conservation and research projects. Our projects require a 1-2 hour training from park staff. Projects include:

- Vernal Pool Monitoring
- Eastern Bluebird Nest Box Monitoring
- Water Quality/Stream Savers
- Box Turtle Study
- Monarch Watch
Volunteer Educators assist our staff naturalists and historians with park programs. Educator opportunities include:
Volunteer Educators are required to be interviewed by our Education and Volunteer Coordinators and must pass a background check prior to being accepted into the program. Training and uniforms are provided.

- Volunteer Naturalist
- Canoe/Kayak Guide
Intrepretator at the Patuxent Rural Life Museums and American Indian Village- Special Event Assistants
Volunteer Educators are required to be interviewed by our Education and Volunteer Coordinators and must pass a background check prior to being accepted into the program. Training and uniforms are provided.
Group projects for scouts and organizations are available at Patuxent River Park. These may vary from one-time events to on-going projects. Some examples of group projects include:

- Gardening
- Vernal Pool Monitoring
- Adopt-a-Trail
- Park Enhancement Projects
- Invasive Plant Removals
- Special Event Support
- River Clean Ups