Thank you for your interest in volunteering with LandPaths in Sonoma County! Our full name is LAND PArtners THrough Stewardship and that means acting with you as stewards and fellow adventurers. Whatever your lived experience, physical ability, time, skills, and interests, we have a place for you.
Right now we are in particular need of committed volunteers for our In-School programs: IOOBY and Inspired Forward. These are always on weekdays. Perfect for retired teachers or colleges students looking to gain experience in the environmental education field!
It’s easy to get started: Fill out the volunteer survey above, click Youth Programs, and we’ll follow up as soon as possible.
In-School Programs (Environmental Education)
In Our Own BackYard (IOOBY): Our ground-breaking environmental education program started in 1999. IOOBY connects local elementary school children and teachers to open space in Sonoma County.
Inspired Forward (IF): Geared towards teens and young adults, Inspired Forwardgrows leadership, team-building, mental resilience, ecological literacy, and stewardship skills.
What Volunteers Do:
Support our youth programs staff as they bring science curriculum to life and create connections to nature and community on field trips to open space preserves across Sonoma County. This opportunity takes place during the school year. This is a great volunteer opportunity for retired teachers!
Nature Camp
Owl Camp: Our long-running and popular nature camp for ages 6 to 13 years. We also have opportunities to volunteer at Winter Break and Spring Break Nature Camps!
LGBTQAI2+ Inclusive Camps: A fun and welcoming opportunity for LGBTQAI2s+ youth and allies between the ages of 7 to 18, to be in nature, learning and growing with their peers
How You Can Help
Are you a teen between the ages of 14 – 19? Apply to volunteer at our spring, summer, or winter break nature camps! Click here to learn more!
From leading hiking adventures and craft projects to driving kids to camp to singing songs by a creek, you can help our staff create amazing, inclusive experiences for campers! Perfect for retired teachers!
With a dedication to equity and inclusion, we reduce the barriers to increase access for people historically excluded from positive connection with nature and the outdoors.
Community Gardens
Bayer Farm: Our two-acre community farm and hub in the heart of Roseland, in partnership with the City of Santa Rosa. Bayer is a beloved place for nature in the city, learning and refuge, especially for the people and the land most impacted by climate change, wildfire, and other crises.
Jeff’s Gardenat Andy’s Unity Park: Our newer community farm and hub in southwest Santa Rosa. Inspired by Bayer Farm, Jeff’s Garden offers similar ways to lend a hand.
Rancho Mark West: Our teaching garden at this community and learning hub in the Mayacamas Mountains above Santa Rosa was severely damaged in the Glass Fire; we need lots of people-power to help rehabilitate and rebuild the soil and the plants.
Ocean Song/Myers: A haven for pollinators, birds, and other creatures, this iconic garden is a place of respite and refuge in West County.
How You Can Help:
Lend a hand at the community gardens for either pre-scheduled or drop-in stewardship days. No garden or stewardship experience necessary, just a willingness to get your hands dirty and care for the land!
Do you have experience with native plants, vineyards, mulching, fruit tree pruning, or any other specialized gardening skill? Let us know as we can use those skills at all of the gardens!
Let’s Read Outside
Love the idea of combining a love of nature with early childhood literacy, art, crafts, and reading aloud? Consider volunteering with Let’s Read Outside, which runs summer through fall at Bayer Farm and other open space partner locations.
How You Can Help:
Help gather and sort book donations, prepare the site for the reading activity, support arts and crafts activities or lead a reading circle!
Or why not share your love of nature as a docent?
Docents are instrumental to our mission of providing equitable public access opportunities. After a training process, docents are ready to lead unique outings and hikes, in English, Spanish, or both on preserves stewarded by LandPaths. Learn more about how to become a docent at Bohemia Ecological Preserve or Lafferty Ranch.
Grow Community with Nature
Acting with common purpose and courage, we care for the land and each other and respond to the changing needs of the community. Nature is one of our best hopes for dealing with the environmental and social crisis aggravated by climate change.
People-Powered Parks
Our approach to stewardship, the responsible management of resources, starts with the community. This means a lot of people with their hands in the dirt. In community, the task becomes lighter.
How You Can Help
Maintain trails, do wildfire fuel and invasive species reduction and more. No experience necessary and we provide the tools! Drop-in stewardship days at the preserves throughout the year.
Monitor wildlife cameras, change SD cards and batteries, etc. Or do database work from the comfort of home such as identifying animals in photos and adding information to our database. Participate in burn piles and learn about the relationship between the land and fire through our Good Fire Program. We also have programs specifically geared towards community members who identify as LGBTQ+ such as our Queer Forestry and Fire Progam.
For ages of 14 to 24, Young Stewards grow skills in land stewardship.
Other Ways to Help
Work remotely or from the LandPaths office in downtown Santa Rosa, helping with data entry, office and database organization, envelope stuffing, and other administrative tasks.
Support our communications team with social media, photography, blog posts, making engaging TikToks, research, press releases, graphic design, or other creative ways to get the word out about LandPaths.
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