Find a volunteering opportunity in your area
Click on the latest opportunities to learn more.
- Campground Host Program
- MN PlantWatch
- Rainfall Monitor
- Adopt-a-WMA Program
- Get Physical on a State Natural Area
- Lake Level Minnesota
- Volunteer Safety Instructors - Firearms,
Bow, ATV, Snowmobile
Campground host program - 2024
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live or work in a state park? Well, why not find out?For over 30 years, volunteers have served as "live-in" hosts at Minnesota state parks or state forest campgrounds. If you enjoy the great outdoors, scenic vistas, and the company of other campers, then consider being a host anytime from April to October. Length of time, workdays and hours are established with the campground manager, but will generally include all weekends and holidays. Avid campers or RV’ers are encouraged to apply!
As a Campground Host, you will generally work independently. You are accountable to the park manager who will provide training and orientation and will assist you throughout the season with any questions or problems that may arise. You will set an example by being a model camper, always practicing good housekeeping in and around the host site, and by observing all rules.Read more about the Campground Host Program. 2024 campground host openings are now posted.Applications are accepted all year long but must be received at least 30 days prior to the date you wish to begin serving as a host.Email your questions to [email protected] (link sends email) or call 888-MINNDNR (888-646-6367) or in the Metro area call 651-259-5607.Note: Campground Hosts are selected from applications that have been satisfactorily completed and submitted in a timely manner. Interviews are conducted by the campground manager. The number of consecutive years that a host may serve may be limited to allow others an opportunity. These limitations are at the discretion of the campground manager.All DNR volunteers must undergo a background check at the time of selection. This also applies to hosts returning from the previous season.
MN PlantWatch
Contribute to plant conservation science by surveying rare plants with the MN PlantWatch Program. Opportunities are available throughout the entire state of Minnesota. Together we hope to update old records and find new populations! This program is a partnership between the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum.
We are looking for volunteers who are:
- Enthusiastic about plants and comfortable identifying plants in nature, or willing to learn
- Interested and able to visit some of the tricky places that rare plants inhabit, including bluff prairies, bogs, fens and forests
- Familiar with field survey work and understand the importance of high-quality data collection
- Comfortable working outdoors alongside MN PlantWatch staff and other volunteers
Rainfall Monitor
Volunteer as a rainfall monitor for the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network (CoCoRaHS) coordinated through the state climatology office in the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.The network includes more than 20,000 volunteers nationwide who measure precipitation in their backyards using a standard 4-inch diameter rain gauge and submit their reports online. The program also collects snowfall and reports hail among other weather observations. The data is used by the National Weather Service, researchers, cities, and a wide range of industries.
Data provided by volunteers:
- Verifies high rainfall totals after big events
- Provides critical information during flooding events
- Monitors drought conditions
- Provides needed guidance on Minnesota's changing climate
To become a weather observer, you must:
- Have internet access to submit reports by computer or using the CoCoRaHS Observer weather app on your smartphone
- Provide or purchase a standard 4-inch rain gauge (discounts are available through CoCoRaHS)
- Complete online training on how to observe weather trends and how to submit precipitation and weather event reports online
- Commit to submitting reports for at least one season
To sign up:
- Complete the CoCoRaHS.org application
- Contact Luigi Romolo, State Climatologist, at [email protected] opens in a new browser tab
Join our weather team today!
Adopt-a-WMA program
The Adopt-A-WMA Program was established to encourage sporting, outdoor, business, and civic groups or individuals to assist, on a volunteer basis, in improving and maintaining Wildlife Management Areas (WMA). This program encourages Minnesota volunteers to "adopt" a specific site, parking lot, or project on a WMA area to help maintain these public lands in cooperation with wildlife managers.
Time Commitment:
- Projects are typically focused on a minimum 2-year time commitment.
- Volunteers must be able to work outdoors in various weather conditions safely without direct supervision except for initial guidance and orientation as needed.
- Hours are flexible typically Monday through Friday with weekends possible depending on the project.
- Trash pickup
- Sign replacement
- Vandalism reporting
- Reading water gauges
- Painting facilities
- Seed harvest
- Weed removal/vegetation management using hand tools
- Shallow lake and wetland water control vegetation clearing
- Wildlife surveys
- Facility work
- Fence removal
- Invasive species control
- Maintain forest openings
- Using power tools
- Chainsaw work
- Mowing noxious weeds
- Mowing prescribed fire breaks
- Mowing hunter walking trails
- Helping with a prescribed burn
Get physical on a Scientific and Natural Area
As part of a typical volunteer workday on a MN Scientific and Natural Area (SNA) you will:
- collect prairie and woodland seeds
- plant seedlings
- pull buckthorn or other invasive species of plants
- cut and burn brush such as sumac
Lake level Minnesota volunteering... doing your level best!
Whether it is floods, droughts, or just a normal year, lake level fluctuations (or the lack of them) are important to document. Be a volunteer observer and record lake levels on a regular basis.Find out more about the Lake Level Minnesota program and Check lake levels with the LakeFinder
Volunteer safety instructors
DNR Certified Volunteer Safety Instructor opportunities are available in the following areas:
- Firearms safety
- Bowhunter education
- Snowmobile safety
- ATV safety
- Wildlife species
Text MNDNR VOLUNTEER to 66468 to subscribe to text updates.