Volunteer Opportunities

Group Service Day

Group service days are a great way for your corporate team, church group, school or organization to give back to the Parks while enjoying a fun team building day. Group service days typically include activities like invasive species removal, trail maintenance, gardening/landscaping, bumblebee surveys, or a special project like painting benches, for example.

Primarily offered April – October. Minimum group size of 10. For most groups, 3 hours is the perfect amount of time. Please give at least 3 – 4 weeks notice to coordinate group service projects.

Group Service Day Request 

Group Clean-Up Day

Group clean-ups are a great way to bond with your community while beautifying our parks. In the form below you can select which park, beach, or trail you'd like to clean up, but better yet, you can reach out to our Engagement Manager to find a park that is in need of clean up. More information on how to organize a group clean-up can be found in the registration form below.
 

Primarily offered April – October. Minimum group size of 10. For most groups, 3 hours is the perfect amount of time. Please give at least 2 weeks notice to coordinate group clean-ups.
 

Clean-Up Registration Form

Volunteer at Wehr Nature Center

Wehr has volunteer opportunities for all and is always taking new applications. As a volunteer, you might spend a few hours a year assisting with a special event, a few hours a week volunteering as part of a group or a few hours every day feeding the animals. 

How Do I Become a Volunteer?

• Complete the online application
• Contact Mary Gaub, volunteer coordinator, to make an appointment

Volunteer at Boerner Botanical Gardens

Volunteers at Boerner Botanical Gardens are needed for a variety of activities including organizing family events, running classes, staffing the gift shop, leading garden tours and providing weeding and garden support for horticultural staff.

How Do I Become a Volunteer?

• Complete the online application

Bumble Bee Monitoring

Volunteers visit an assigned natural area with suitable pollinator habitat a minimum of six times from May to October and, using protocol from the WDNR’s Bumble Bee Brigade, identify and photograph bumble bee populations. Data gathered provides valuable insight to overall habitat health and suggests management strategies that will protect and attract Bumble Bee populations.

Orientation: April

Bird Window-Strike Monitoring

Volunteers monitor “high risk” Parks facilities and document evidence of bird window-strikes during spring and fall migration. Surveys occur daily with a 10-day cycle in spring and a 20-day cycle in fall. Data gathered will be used to retro-fit facilities and manage adjacent habitat making it safer for birds.

Orientation: April and September

Nest Box Adopters

Volunteers help to maintain nest boxes by cleaning out and opening boxes in late fall, closing them in early spring and reporting any issues to staff (i.e. broken/missing parts).

To sign up for Community Science Opportunities contact [email protected] 

Weed-Out®

The Weed-Out program is coordinated by The Park People in cooperation with Parks' Natural Areas Program. Volunteers help control invasive species at different natural areas throughout Milwaukee County Parks. You can find active Weed-Out events for the current season at: https://parkpeoplemke.org/get-involved/programs/weed-out/. If there isn't a group at your desired park, you can certainly start one! Please contact the Natural Areas Program's Restoration Ecologist, Halley Minser ([email protected]). 

All Weed-Out locations must have a certified coordinator which includes attending Weed-Out Coordinator Training (March) and becoming a certified commercial pesticide applicator through DATCP. The Park People provide tools, personal protective equipment, and necessary herbicide. Sorry, but no power tools allowed.

Tree Planting

Tree planting isn't only for Earth Day! Join us in mid- to late-October for our annual reforestation event. No previous experience is required, and you can drop in for a couple of hours or stay for the whole day. On average, we plant 1,500 to 2,000 trees with multiple planting dates offered across a few weeks. Volunteers work with staff to plant 3- to 5-gallon sized, potted native trees and shrubs in pre-drilled holes. You can expect to be carrying about 15 pounds, kneeling for extended periods of time, and getting your hands dirty! We recommend wearing work clothes that will allow you the full conservation experience — mud and all! Sign up for our volunteer announcements and to be notified of upcoming events here. 

Brew Hero

Do you like visiting your local Parks? Do you want to do your part to take care of the local environment and our shared public spaces but can’t always commit to going to volunteer events? Through the Brew Hero program, you can help by doing "mini park cleanups" anytime you want! Upload your mini park cleanup efforts to social media to earn rewards from our Brew Hero partners. Complete the pledge to learn more!

Other Eagle Scout Projects

Scouts looking to do a construction-oriented project — such as building a fire pit, enhancing an archery range, etc. — need to submit their projects through a Park Improvement Project Request. Project applications are reviewed by Parks planning staff and ultimately accepted or denied. The process can take 4 to 6 months depending on project scope, so plan ahead. All project costs must be raised by the Scout. The application form can be found here.