Volunteer
Volunteers at The Forest Society
Since the Forest Society was founded in 1901, volunteer involvement has been a cornerstone to our success as one of the leading conservation organizations in the Northeast. Volunteers contribute more than 6,000 hours a year to the Forest Society!
Our land protection and forestry mission would simply not be possible without the dedication of this cadre of volunteers working in both long-term recurrent roles and on shorter-term, episodic projects.
Listed below are some of the opportunities available to volunteers. Formal training is provided for some positions, and commitment levels vary according to each opportunity. Many of our volunteer opportunities are based out of our headquarters in Concord, or at our Rocks Estate in Bethlehem, NH. Other positions may involve activity at field locations across the state. We are always interested in finding new ways to utilize volunteers, so if you have a particular skill or idea about how you might help the Forest Society, please let us know. Contact Carrie Deegan at cdeegan@forestsociety.org to ask questions about any of the volunteer opportunites below.
Click HERE to fill out our VOLUNTEER INTEREST FORM, or scroll down to the bottom of this page.
OPPORTUNITIES
NEW! Merrimack River Floodplain Education/Events Help (Concord, NH)
We have a new Floodplain Education Coordinator who is working to plan and implement educational and recreation programs on Merrimack River Outdoor Education and Conservatin Area (Floodplain) adjacent to the Conservation Center in Concord. Events are typically Spring through Fall, and may include outings for families, school or camp group visits, natural history programs, or fun recreational outings to explore the property. We are looking for a few relatively local volunteers to assist with these events, helping to register attendees, assisting with set up and signage, assiting with program delivery (if interested), and just being an extra set of hands for our Floodplain Education Coordinator.
Skills/Qualifications: Enjoy working with public, including children and families; interest/skills in environmental education; ability to hike ~2 miles over relatively flat terrain in variable environmental conditions
Location: Merrimack River Outdoor Education & Conservation Area (Concord, NH)
Training required: On the job training; events will be led/supervised by Floodplain Education Coordinator
Commitment/Hours: Variable depending on event dates, but approximately 4-10 hours/month from June-October. Events could be on any day of the week, but volunteers will get advance notice so they can let us know if they are/are not available to help at specific events.
Contact Carrie Deegan at cdeegan@forestsociety.org if interested in this opportunity.
NEW! Creek Farm Education/Events Help (Portsmouth, NH)
The Forest Society's Creek Farm Education Coordinator is currently working to plan and implement educational and recreation programs at our Creek Farm Reservation in Portsmouth, NH. Events are typically run Spring through Fall, and may include outings for families, school or camp group programs, natural history programs, or fun recreational outings to explore the property. We are looking for a few relatively local volunteers to assist with these events, helping to register attendees, assisting with set up and signage, assiting with program delivery (if interested), and just being an extra set of hands for our Creek Farm Education Coordinator.
Skills/Qualifications: Enjoy working with public, including children and families; interest/skills in environmental education; ability to hike ~2 miles over relatively flat terrain in variable environmental conditions
Location: Creek Farm Reservation (Little Harbor Road, Portsmouth, NH)
Training required: On the job training; events will be led/supervised by Creek Farm Education Coordinator
Commitment/Hours: Variable depending on event dates, but approximately 4-10 hours/month from June-October. Events could be on any day of the week, but volunteers will get advance notice so they can let us know if they are/are not available to help at specific events.
Contact Carrie Deegan at cdeegan@forestsociety.org if interested in this opportunity.
Sugar Maple Regeneration Project Citizen Scientists (Kauffmann Forest, Stark)
The Forest Society is began a long-term citizen science research project in 2019, along with Hubbard Brook Research Foundation, looking at regeneration of sugar maple trees. In the past 15 years, sugar maple seedling failure has been documented at Hubbard Brook's Experimental Forest in Woodstock, NH, so researchers are replicating the Hubbard Brook research on four Forest Society reservations to see whether it is also occuring at other locations around the state. Project sites will be at Monadnock Reservation (Dublin, off Dublin Trail), Yatsevitch Forest (Cornish), Sudrabin Forest (Orange) and Kauffmann Forest (Stark). In 2020, we are in need of additional volunteers at the Kauffmann Fores in Stark, NH. Some hiking/bushwhacking will be required to reach study sites. You will learn how to set up study plots, how to identify trees in varying age classes, and how to collect tree demography data from study plots. Plus you'll be able to interact with other citizen science volunteers and researchers from Hubbard Brook.
Skills/Qualifications: Interest in New Hampshire forest health, contributing to sugar maple research, and in careful collection of scientific data. Must be available to attend a training for citizen scientists in Spring 2020 (TBD). Should be able to hike off-trail up to 1 mile to reach study locations, and have a cell phone (for emergencies and navigation).
Location: Additional citizen scientist volunteers are needed at Kauffmann Forest in Stark in 2020.
Training required: Training for new citizen scientists will be held at Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest in North Woodstock in Spring 2020 (date TBD). Citizen scientists will primarily work in conjunction with Hubbard Brook researchers to collect tree data at research locations, so continued on-site training will be available.
Commitment/Hours: Must be available to attend Spring 2020 initial training. Following that, approximately 4-6 additional days of on-site data collection (between mid-May and mid-August) at the study site. These days will be scheduled based on researcher and volunteer availablity for crews at each study site. We hope that citizen scientists will continue to work on the project for multiple years, as this is a long-term project that will depend upon consistent and accurate data collection!
Contact Carrie Deegan at cdeegan@forestsociety.org or 545-2992 with questions and/or interests in this citizen science project!
Forest Explorer App Beta Testers (various locations)
Do you have a smartphone or other mobile device and have some time to spend hiking this spring? Help us beta-test our Forest Explorer web app, which provides interpretive and navigational content for hikers on Forest Society reservations. As we continue to add more trail maps and enhanced experiences around the state, we are looking for volunteers to tell us exactly how well they work or don't work in specific locations.
Skills/Qualifications: Must have a smartphone and the ability to hike trails on Forest Society reservations. Comfort with digital media is a plus, but even if you're not super technology-savvy, we'd love your help. Detail oriented people are especially helpful-- we'd like to know all the specifics regarding your experience using the app!
Location: Field locations across New Hampshire.
Training required: We'll get you started and logged on to Forest Explorer via email instructions. Then head out to your nearest Forest Explorer location and try out the app! We have experiences online in Alton, Bethlehem, Concord, Jaffrey, Milford, Newbury, Portsmouth, and Rochester.
Commitment/Hours: Self-directed, you can beta test as many of the Forest Explorer experiences as you like, on your own time and travel schedule.
Contact Emily Lord at elord@forestsociety.org to sign up to be a NH Forest Explorer beta-tester!
Citizen Scientists/Orchard Caretakers, American Chestnut Seed Orchard (Tom Rush Forest, Deering)
The Forest Society partnered with the American Chestnut Foundation to establish an American Chestnut Seed Orchard in 2019. This is an effort to help develop a chestnut blight-resistant variety of American Chestnut, so that these majestic trees can be re-introduced into the forests of southern NH. The seed orchard is located at the Tom Rush Forest in Deering, NH, and will eventually have as many as 3,000 chestnut trees covering an acre of old field. Chestnut orchard volunteers may help with planting or innoculation events, data collection, or with routine care of the orchard (monthly check-ins where watering, mowing, weeding and infrastructure maintenance may be required). Come and learn about this beautiful tree and be a part of the restoration effort!
Skills/Qualifications: Interest the American Chestnut Foundation's mission to restore the American Chestnut to northeastern forests. Ability to help with orchard care (planting, watering, weeding, mowing, maintaining rodent guards and fencing, etc.), either in group workdays or shorter routine visits. Routine maintenance volunteers should live within a reasonable driving distance of Deering, NH.
Location: Tom Rush Forest, Deering NH.
Training required: On site training during workdays or maintenance events with established orchard volunteers.
Commitment/Hours: Variable. There will be larger group workdays each year (planting chestnut seeds, innoculating chestnut trees, weeding) as well as routine monitoring and maintenance check-in visits for local volunteers. Please contact Carrie Deegan if you are interested in helping in some capacity.
Contact Carrie Deegan at cdeegan@forestsociety.org or 545-2992 with questions and/or interests in this citizen science project!
Volunteer Land Steward (various locations)
Volunteer Land Stewards receive comprehensive training to help steward one of our Forest Reservations. Land Stewards act as caretakers of our properties, maintaining trails, removing litter, posting signage, etc. They also monitor signs of use and boundary lines, and act as liaisons to the community. Becoming a Land Steward requires attendance at a 2-day training session offered annually in the Spring. For more information about the Land Steward Program, visit our Land Steward page.
Skills/Qualifications: Must be willing and able to walk/navigate on a forest reservation (on and off-trail) and perform basic stewardship tasks. Some knowledge of conservation, land stewardship, and forestry helpful. Must live within 20 miles of a Forest Society reservation that is in need of a steward, and be willing to complete a mandatory 2-day training.
Training: 2-day, in-residence training for new Land Stewards is offered each Spring, at no cost to volunteers.
Location: In the field, at a Forest Reservation -
CLICK HERE to view up-to-date Forest Reservations in need of stewardship
Commitment/Hours: Must be available for April 3-4, 2020 training (Camp Cody, Freedom, NH), good faith commitment to steward a property for 2+ years, suggested 4 visits/yr.
Contact Andy Crowley at acrowley@forestsociety.org to learn about openings and signing up for the training.
Volunteer Easement Monitor (various locations)
Volunteer Easement Monitors assist the Forest Society's Easement Stewardship staff by monitoring 2-5 conservation easement properties each year. These properties are not typically owned by the Forest Society, but we hold conservation restrictions on them which limit development and need to be upheld and monitored annually. Volunteer Easement Monitors must complete a 1-day training covering history/mission of the Forest Society, the basics of easement deeds and terms, use of a GPS tablet/smartphone app, and boundary navigation by survey and compass. Following this training, 2-5 easement properties are assigned to each volunteer to monitor annually. See our Volunteer Easement Monitor Page for information on upcoming trainings.
Skills/Qualifications: Familiar and comfortable with navigating off-trail in the woods, ability to use (or learn to use) technology- GPS app for tablet or smartphone- to collect track, point and photo data and submit it to the Forest Society. Knowledge of stewardship and forestry practices also helpful, but not essential. Willing to travel some distance in NH to reach easement properties, and willing to monitor 2-5 properties per year, for 2+ years.
Training: Comprehensive training for new volunteer easement monitors offered annually. Contact Carrie Deegan at cdeegan@forestsociety.org for more information.
Location: Variable, conservation easement properties across state.
Commitment/Hours: 1 day training, then 2-5 days/year monitoring easement properties. We ask that Volunteer Easement Monitors make a 2-3 year commitment to the program.
Contact Carrie Deegan at cdeegan@forestsociety.org for more information.
Outreach/Event assistants (various locations)
The Forest Society often needs extra “feet on the street” to help educate the public on local land conservation efforts, and assist with running special events and field trips. Tasks are varied but could include: posting flyers, contacting local officials to promote programs in their area, coordinating event logistics, assisting with set-up and tear-down, registering event attendees, attending field trips and helping with group management, and updating information on the web site.
Skills/Qualifications: Strong communication and organization skills, ability to act as a knowledgeable representative of the Forest Society, comfortable speaking to groups of people, creativity, or familiarity with the Internet.
Training: Varies depending on duties, but usually on-the-job
Location: Variable, locations across state.
Commitment/Hours: Occasional/As Needed. Event assistants will be contacted in advance of an event to see if they are available and willing to help.
Contact Carrie Deegan at cdeegan@forestsociety.org to get on our events volunteer list.
Event Photographer (various locations)
If you have a camera (digital SLR or even a smartphone) and like taking photographs and/or video, we could use your help documenting events and programs happening throughout the year on Forest Society properties. It's often hard for staff to take photos while also coordinating events like group trail workdays, school tours of forest properties, fundraising events for land protection campaigns, field trips and hikes, and other activities. If you are willing to take photos and send them to us, consider offering your services as an Event Photographer. All photographs submitted to us will become the property of the Forest Society, but full credit will be given to you when we use them in media like our e-newsletter, website, social media and Forest Notes magazine.
Skills/Qualifications: Own digital camera (smartphone fine), ability to take nice photographs of people and surroundings at events.
Training: No training required, but staff will have suggestions about what to photograph
Location: Variable, locations across state.
Commitment/Hours: Occasional/As Needed. Event Photographers will be contacted in advance of an event to see if they are available and willing to help.
Commitment/Hours: Occasional/As Needed. Event assistants will be contacted in advance of an event to see if they are available and willing to help.
Contact Emily Lord at elord@forestsociety.org to get on our event photographer list.
Conservation Center Volunteer Grounds Crew (weekdays/flexible times)
Concord, NH
We are looking to build a small crew of volunteers to assist with maintaining the beautiful forested grounds around the Conservation Center in Concord. The goal is to create an inviting outdoor space with a mix of maintained landscaping and naturally occurring vegetation. Duties include:
- Regular maintenance of planting beds to include weeding, edging, mulching and watering if needed.
- Tend to plants including pruning when appropriate, deadheading, and planting and removal.
- Maintaining the treed areas around the immediate vicinity of the buildings and parking areas.
- Composting yard waste
Skills/Qualifications: Gardening/plant knowledge helpful, but not necessary. Willingness to get your hands dirty and work outside a must.
Location: Conservation Center, 54 Portsmouth Street, Concord, NH
Training required: Volunteers will be oriented and given instruction in landscaping/gardening tasks before working on their own.
Commitment/Hours: Flexible, ideally weekly or every other week for a few hours at a time. Must be during hours that the Conservation Center is open, M-F 8:30-5:30. Spring, Summer and Fall only.
Contact Carrie Deegan at cdeegan@forestsociety.org to sign up or for more information.
Mount Major Outdoor Classroom Hike Helpers (Mount Major, Alton)
Do you love hiking, inspiring kids, and live within a reasonable driving distance of Mount Major? We are looking to train some additional volunteers to assist with Mount Major Outdoor Classroom, a program that provides outreach to schools who run annual field trips to hike Mount Major. Volunteer hike helpers greet students, teachers and parent chaperones at Mount Major and hike with them to the summit, reinforcing messages they've learned in the classroom portion of Mount Major Outdoor Classroom about natural, cultural and geologic history, hiker safety and etiquette. We'll show you what the kids learn in class, and how you'll be of help on the hike days!
Skills/Qualifications: Ability to keep up with elementary and middle school kids (and their parents) hiking Mount Major, like interacting with kids. Willing to drive to Mount Major for hikes. Must be available for occasional weekdays in the spring and/or fall (when school field trips will be scheduled). Available for May 4th, 2018 training.
Location: Mount Major (Alton NH)
Training required: Trainings for MMOC offered annually. Contact Carrie Deegan cdeegan@forestsociety.org for more information.
Commitment/Hours: We hope each volunteer can commit to 1 to 2 school hikes in Spring and 1-2 hikes in Fall. Hikes will be weekdays in April-June and September-October.
Trail Crew (various locations)
Join staff and volunteer land stewards on group workdays on Forest Society properties around the state. Projects may include trail construction and/or maintenance, building drainages or footbridges, picking up trash and dumped items, improving habitat, opening views, clearing field edges, or maintaining infrastructure like gates and signs.
Skills/Qualifications: Ability to work outside in a range of terrain and environmental conditions, use hand tools. Previous trail maintenance experience welcome but not necessary. Under 18 must be accompanied by an adult parent or guardian.
Location: Field locations across New Hampshire.
Training required: On site, via staff or land steward workday leader.
Commitment/Hours: Informal/Occasional - those interested in Trail Crew will be put on email workday list to be notified about upcoming workdays. Participation is always optional, and only if your schedule allows. Typical workdays are 5-8 hours.
Contact Andy Crowley at acrowley@forestsociety.org to be added to the Trail Crew email list.
Volunteer Bakers (Your home/Conservation Center, Concord)
We have numerous board and committee meetings scheduled at the Conservation Center throughout the year. These committees are made up largely of volunteers who donate a lot of their time to make the Forest Society a better organization and keep it on track with its conservation mission. Maybe you can't imagine yourself on a Development Committee or Board of Trustees, but if you like make baked goods (cookies, sweet breads, cakes, bars, etc.) you could volunteer to bake something to keep other volunteers going at one of these meetings! Interested volunteer bakers can be notified of meeting dates/numbers well in advance to see if they might be able to make and donate a baked good.
Skills/Qualifications: Like making yummy treats for others to enjoy, able to transport them to Conservation Center in Concord.
Location: Conservation Center, 54 Portsmouth Street, Concord, NH
Training required: None. I'm sure you know more than we do about baking!
Commitment/Hours: Variable, volunteers can choose meeting dates that work for them to bring something in.
Contact Carrie Deegan at cdeegan@forestsociety.org if you're interested in baking for us!
Green Building Tour Guide (Conservation Center, Concord)
Tour guides lead groups of students and adults through the award-winning Conservation Center, explaining the passive solar design and energy efficient features. Training is provided to teach volunteers how solar energy works and why the Forest Society built our distinctive headquarters, home to seven conservation organizations.
Skills/Qualifications: Strong verbal communication, comfortable with groups, good interpretive skills
Location: Conservation Center, Concord
Training: Training program for new Green Building Tour Guides is offered annually. Contact Carrie Deegan at cdeegan@forestsociety.org for more information.
Hours/Commitment: Occasional/As needed, approximately 2 hours per tour. Tours are on weekdays, when the Conservation Center is open for business.
More than 350 people volunteer their time each year to the Forest Society. We hope you consider becoming one of them! Fill out the volunteer application and let us know which position interests you. Watch here for updates and new opportunities as they become available.
If you have any questions, please contact our volunteer program at volunteer@forestsociety.org.