Volunteers-In-Parks is a National Park Service program that allows individuals to play an active role in helping protect and share these national treasures. Volunteering with the National Park Service allows parks to accomplish more than they could normally and provides volunteers with unique opportunities to contribute. It also allows individuals to apply their talents and skills or learn new ones in a way that is both beneficial to the volunteer and to the benefiting park.
Discover some ways volunteers have contributed to National Park Service sites in the Midwest below.
Discover some ways volunteers have contributed to National Park Service sites in the Midwest below.
Showing results 1-10 of 41
- Cuyahoga Valley National Park
Restoring Butterfly Habitat at Terra Vista
- Type: Article
- Locations: Cuyahoga Valley National Park
Citizen scientists monitoring butterflies at the Terra Vista Natural Study Area provide important data for the habitat restoration team.
- Cuyahoga Valley National Park
Finding Moses Cleaveland Trees in Cuyahoga Valley
- Type: Article
- Locations: Cuyahoga Valley National Park
For Cleveland’s 225th anniversary, park staff tracked down the last Moses Cleaveland Tree living in Cuyahoga Valley.
- Cuyahoga Valley National Park
Creating Cuyahoga Valley National Park: 50 Moments That Tell the Story
- Type: Article
- Locations: Cuyahoga Valley National Park
In honor of our 50th anniversary year in 2025, Cuyahoga Valley National Park is highlighting 50 key events that help define who and what we are. They showcase the many partners that have come together to preserve open space, create opportunities for recreation, clean up pollution, restore habitats, and save historic resources.
- Cuyahoga Valley National Park
When Was That? Key Dates in Making Cuyahoga Valley National Park
- Type: Article
- Locations: Cuyahoga Valley National Park
In honor of our 50th anniversary year in 2025, Cuyahoga Valley National Park is compiling this list of key dates in our history.
- Type: Article
- Locations: Ice Age National Scenic Trail
- Offices: Regions 3, 4, and 5
Between October 18 and October 22, 2023, 268 volunteers donated 4,776 service hours to build trail along the Ice Age National Scenic Trail.
- Cuyahoga Valley National Park
Janet B. Hutchison: Park Founder and Long-time Volunteer
- Type: Person
- Locations: Cuyahoga Valley National Park
Janet Hutchison began advocating for the preservation of Cuyahoga Valley in 1966. As a member of the League of Women Voters, she gave slide shows and bus tours. After park establishment in 1974, Janet volunteered more than 22,600 hours providing expertise in cartography, graphic artistry, data management, and legislative histories.
- Scotts Bluff National Monument
My Park Story: Doug Kent
- Type: Article
- Locations: Scotts Bluff National Monument
Learn about how one volunteer at Scotts Bluff National Monument, Doug Kent, helps make a positive impact on the lives of visitors from all over the world.
- Ulysses S Grant National Historic Site
Volunteer Story: Carmen King
- Type: Article
- Locations: Ulysses S Grant National Historic Site
Quite often park libraries are overlooked and neglected. Very few parks have dedicated librarians or staff are assigned library work as collateral duty. Carmen King has volunteered over 900 hours in Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site’s library. She was honored with the 2020 National Park Service Regions 3, 4 and 5 (Midwest) Hartzog Enduring Service award.
- Type: Article
- Locations: Crater Lake National Park, Cuyahoga Valley National Park
Alexandra Sines was an AmeriCorps Vista Intern at Cuyahoga Valley National Park. She collaborated with staff at the Cuyahoga Valley Environmental Education Center, the Volunteer Management office, and a local community partner to bring students from Greater Cleveland to the national park to do citizen science.
- Type: Article
Learn about Megan and what keeps her coming back to work each day!
Last updated: November 2, 2023