My Park Story: Natalie Mudd

Natalie shows off her pruning shears.

Natalie Mudd is serving as a National Leader for the Community Volunteer Ambassador Program. For the February 2023 cohort of this program, she works directly with the National Park Service Washington Support Office with the Volunteer-In-Parks program and provides peer support to over 50 Community Volunteer Ambassadors at national park sites across the US. In celebration of National Volunteer Week, read about Natalie's path to discovering her love of national parks and volunteerism, and how she connects those two passions to make her park visits meaningful ones.


My journey with the National Park Service began at a very early age. My family was very active and one of our favorite activities to do was to bike on trails in a national park. We would race with one other down the trail, make pit stops along the river to skip rocks, and our goal in each ride was to arrive at a little ice cream shop within the park. I have fond memories of riding through the rain, seeing bald eagles fly above us and spending time outdoors. These trips to the park sparked my love for the outdoors and are core memories for me and my siblings. The funny thing is as a child I never knew that the place I had grown up in was a national park! It wasn’t until later in life, when looking at a map of national park sites, that I saw a little piece of home dotted on the map, Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

I was fortunate to have this experience growing up and to be so close to a national park site. I was also fortunate to be raised in a family that not only prioritized family time and outdoor experiences like this, but also prioritized volunteering as well. Growing up, my parents made sure that we saw our free time and skills as opportunities to do some good and make differences in the world and those around us. They taught us that volunteering was something to be enjoyed and to be proud of the opportunity to do it. Who would have thought that I would find a way to connect my love for the national parks and my love for volunteering?

Left photo: Natalie (front left) with her family at Cuyahoga Valley National Park
Right photo: Young Natalie (center) volunteering with friends.

Natalie volunteering at Everglades National Park.

Despite overcoming many obstacles while graduating college during the pandemic and achieving a goal of mine, I felt as if I hit a wall when trying to apply for jobs. Many positions wanted someone who had “real world” experience or who had completed an internship. I was unable to do the internships I had gotten into due to the COVID-19 regulations. I was at a loss until I applied for a job in Everglades National Park. I got a position with a concessionaire in the Everglades as a Naturalist and First Mate in a seasonal position. I later moved on to be a Naturalist for a partnership in the park and then heard about an internship that could be a great door to open to get more involved in the park, the Community Volunteer Ambassador (CVA) Program. I was accepted and served at Everglades for the February 2022 cohort and worked alongside the volunteers and within the volunteer office. I loved that position, the people I got to work with and the opportunity to make small differences around me with their volunteers. I got to volunteer in nearby sites, see parts of the park sites that are not open to the public, gain new skills, and have new experiences.

Natalie in her Community Volunteer Ambassador uniform.

As my time as a CVA in the Everglades was coming to an end, I felt as if I had more to learn. So, I applied to be a second year CVA, but this time with a challenge for myself, to step in a leadership role as the National Community Volunteer Ambassador Leader for the February 2023 cohort.

From my experiences I now know how I can use my love of national parks and my passion for volunteering in my work and in a future position. I now also have a way to not only visit national park sites but to do so in a meaningful way by volunteering for events at those sites. My hope is that others will do the same. Not only because volunteering is impactful on the sites that receive volunteers, but because volunteering is a way to get connected to the site in a way that you couldn’t do as a visitor. As a volunteer, you connect with the site and National Park Service staff and have a new kind of story that other visitors won’t get by simply walking into a visitor center or along a trail. I hope others will celebrate National Volunteer Week by sharing their volunteer stories and by signing up to volunteer themselves. So that other national park fans will see the opportunity those VIPs had gotten, and this will spark something in others to become a volunteer as well.

Interested in becoming a volunteer?

If you have interest in beginning your volunteer experience in the National Park Service, visit Volunteer with Us to discover volunteer opportunities at national park sites near you.

The official logo for the Volunteers-In-Parks program.

About the Community Volunteer Ambassador Program:

As a fifty-week professional internship, the Community Volunteer Ambassador Program is managed in partnership between the National Park Service Volunteer-In-Parks Program and the Stewards Individual Placement Program of Conservation Legacy. Members are youth (ages 18-30 or 18-35 if veterans) from diverse backgrounds who aspire to future careers in service and conservation stewardship. In 2022, approximately 90 members will be placed in park sites throughout the country to provide capacity-building services focused on connecting communities to parks through engagement and volunteer activities.

The official logo for the Community Volunteer Ambassador program.