|
|
|
|
|
| |
|||
Volunteer
Opportunities in Yosemite
Whether greeting visitors and answering questions at information stations in the park or conducting rare plant surveys and restoring wilderness areas, YA volunteers make a difference in Yosemite.
Volunteering in the park allows you to give something back to Yosemite while experiencing its grandeur. As the pressure grows for the National Park Service to provide more services with fewer financial resources, the role of volunteers has become even greater in the park and our organization. Last year, more than 160 YA volunteers contributed nearly 13,500 hours of service to crucial projects and programs.
Volunteering with YA is a benefit of membership. To learn more about volunteering for the Yosemite Association and becoming a member if you're not already, contact us by e-mail or by calling (209) 379-2317.
Visitor Information Volunteers
Work Week Volunteer Vacations
Visitor Information Volunteers (Month-long)
Visitor Information Volunteers spend a month or more in the park assisting visitors and sharing their love of Yosemite. Most volunteers work approximately 30 hours per week with time off to enjoy the park. Volunteers enjoy free camping at shared sites in Yosemite Valley, Wawona, or Tuolumne Meadows, a 30% discount on the books and educational materials we sell, and discount cards from the concessionaire. Assignments in Yosemite Valley and Wawona run from May through September; Tuolumne Meadows volunteers work from late June to September.
Typical Visitor Information Volunteer assignments include:
Membership Information Booth
Yosemite Valley & Tuolumne Meadows
Help visitors while promoting YA's membership program.
Outdoor Adventure Campground Hosting
Tuolumne Meadows
Camp in beautiful Tuolumne Meadows and welcome and orient Outdoor Adventure course participants.
Parsons Lodge, Tuolumne Meadows
Greet and orient visitors in this historic building in Tuolumne Meadows.
Happy Isles Nature Center, Yosemite Valley
Assist visitors with sales and information in the family-oriented Nature Center at Happy Isles near the busy John Muir Trail trailhead.
Yosemite Museum Gallery, Yosemite Valley
Act as a docent, opening exhibits and greeting visitors to the Yosemite Museum.
Mariposa Grove Museum, Wawona
Share the majesty of the sequoias with visitors and assist museum sales.
Wawona Information Station at Hill's Studio
Assist visitors with sales and information on points of interest along Highway 41 from historic Hill's Studio located on the grounds of the Wawona Hotel.
To download information and an application to become a Visitor Information Volunteer in Yosemite click here.
Work Week Volunteer Vacations
Cooperative Work Week volunteers assist Yosemite National Park’s Division of Resources Management and Science with restoration projects in a variety of locations throughout the park.
The work can be hard and dirty, but the payoff is immediate as you see your efforts erase a scar in a meadow or rehabilitate a riverbank. Teams of up to fifteen share a group camp and are served three hearty meals a day. Participants work four eight-hour days, with a day off mid-week.
Each summer, budget permitting, five different week-long trips are scheduled. Each volunteer pays a fee to help cover the cost the program. These valuable efforts are sponsored cooperatively by the Yosemite Association, the National Park Service, the Yosemite Institute, and DNC Parks & Resorts at Yosemite.
For answers to Frequently Asked Questions about the
Cooperative Work Weeks program, click here.
Click HERE to download Project descriptions and an Application.