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Dane County Parks

Group Volunteering

There are several opportunities for your business, school, or community group to help with park projects throughout the year. Volunteering allows your group to spend time together outdoors while providing much needed support to the parks you love. Some opportunities include native seed collection, invasive brush removal, trash pickup, and supporting a community event at a park. Specifics about certain volunteer opportunities can be found on the All Volunteer Opportunities webpage. 

While not required, some organizations provide a much-appreciated financial donation to help us cover the costs of materials and staff time for their volunteer activity. 

Please note, our ability to fulfill group volunteer requests depends on our staff capacity and current volunteer needs. Find your group size below to learn more about volunteering.

Group Instructions

Getting Started:

We are only able to fulfill group volunteer requests for high school (age 14+) or adult groups for the activities and timeframes listed below. If you are interested in volunteering outside of these timeframes you are welcome to sign-up for our general volunteer opportunities shown on our event calendar.

Fill out this interest form. Please reach out at least a month in advance if you are considering a group volunteer event. Our staff will follow up within a week to let you know if we can fulfill your request. 

Available Opportunities:

  • Native Prairie Seed Collecting (Available August - October): Help harvest native grass and flower seeds to restore hundred of acres of endangered tallgrass prairie across the county. 
  • Woody Brush Removal: Buckthorn and Honeysuckle (Available November - March): Work as a team using loppers and hand saws to cut back thick, invasive woody brush. Volunteers stack and organize the cut material into distinct brush piles designed for controlled winter ecological burns. 
  • Native Prairie Seeding (Available January - March): Help hand-broadcast (spread) native seeds across snow cover or newly prepared ground to establish thriving wildlife habitats.
  • Parks Cleanup (Available April - May): Help prepare our community parks for the busy summer season by clearing winter debris, raking, and tidying up public picnic areas and shelters.
  • Shoreline Cleanup (Available April -June): Protect our county watershed by collecting trash, plastics, and debris along park lakefronts, riverbanks, and beaches.
  • Native Plant Transplanting (Available May-June): Assist park staff in digging, splitting, and transplanting native flowers and grasses to new pots. 
  • Invasive Weed Removal & Pulling (Available May - July): Protect fragile ecosystems by hand-pulling widespread invasive species like garlic mustard before they drop seed.

For groups of 15 or less we recommend finding existing volunteer opportunities on our MyImpact Volunteer Portal or our Event Calendar. These opportunities are often regularly occurring and easier for smaller groups to join.  
 

Getting Started on MyImpact: 

  1. View the activities listed on our MyImpact Volunteer Portal
  2. If there is an activity that seems interesting, click "Fill in an Application" 
  3. Complete the "Group Volunteer Application" (linked within the Adult Application)
  4. Complete all fields. You will immediately be able to register your group for a workday of your choosing, provided enough volunteer spots exist for the number of people in your group. 
  5. Sign your group up for an available workday! 
     

Getting Started on the Event Calendar: 

  1. View our Event Calendar
  2. Click on "Search by Category" and check the box for "Volunteer"
  3. Search for events and click "View Event" to learn more about an opportunity or to sign up. 
  4. Follow instructions for sign up. If a workday signup link directs you to MyImpact, follow the steps outlined above.

 

Questions? 

Contact:
Dane County Parks Volunteer Program 
(608) 224-3730
parksvolunteer@danecounty.gov

 

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