Little Traverse Conservancy
Volunteer
You Make the Difference
Our volunteers look for meaning and purpose through action. They offer their energy on cold days, expertise on challenging engineering projects, and a positive attitude when the bugs bite.
Their efforts allow us to conserve and restore landscapes and maintain miles of trails for the community to enjoy. They are the heartbeat of our mission. Your support as a volunteer will leave a lasting impact on our landscape and our community.
Forms for Existing Volunteers
Ways You Can Help
A small group of dedicated volunteers who help maintain the Offield Family Viewlands Working Forest Reserve for community benefit.
Year-round tasks include maintaining trails, flower beds, signs, and structures, helping with habitat restoration
projects, and more.
Great for families, Community Science efforts enable us to learn what is on the land and what we are protecting. Whether you have special skills in birding, plant or wildlife identification, carpentry, or want to learn a new skill, you can get involved on your own time, in your way. Volunteer opportunities include:
- Vernal Pool Monitoring
- Forest Health Surveying
- American Kestrel Nest Box Monitoring
- Bird or Bat Surveying
- Native Seed Collecting
Full descriptions of these programs can be found here.
Or you can host a work party or BioBlitz at a preserve you love and want to take care of. Bring us your passion, ideas, family, and friends, and we can put you to work!
Be our eyes on the ground and feet on the trail. These volunteers commit to a long-term role to care for a particular nature preserve or working forest reserve. They often visit the property throughout the year, clearing trails and walking off track along remote boundary lines.
They clean up trash along roadsides, maintain logo signs, and repair anything on the ground that needs TLC. They report back to us twice a year and let us know when a property needs staff attention. We are currently looking to fill this volunteer position at several preserves throughout our service area.
Already a Land Steward? Tell us what you saw out there.
Our Thursday volunteer group helps with fieldwork at our properties, from trail clearing and building boardwalks to invasive plant removal. This group really will do anything. Join us if you want to meet new people and laugh a lot!
Each October, the Independence Hunt is organized by Operation Injured Soldiers. This weekend is an opportunity for veterans and those with disabilities to participate in a guided hunting experience on private land (including Little Traverse Conservancy properties).
With your help, these men and women can have access to the outdoors that they love — and need — and will also provide a deer-camp experience where these hunters can relax, socialize, and recharge. We are looking for experienced hunters to guide a disabled veteran on a Little Traverse Conservancy nature preserve.
If you would like to help in another way, we are looking for donations to help fund travel expenses and deer processing fees for these hunters. Your tax-deductible gift will allow these handi-capable hunters to get outdoors and do something they dearly love and have selflessly earned.
Occasionally we host work days to build trails, boardwalks, parking areas or similar work. We will add you to our email list to be notified as these arise.
Want to help out in the education department or lead a community field trip? Can you help distribute our publications and maps? Or do you have a particular skill you’d like to share? We’d love to hear more. Give us a call or click on the Volunteer button above, and we will contact you.
Want to help your neighborhood and your community look a little nicer? Join us by adopting a nature preserve roadside. It can be a great way to involve the family and teach them about taking care of their community. Add it to your daily walk and contribute to our mission without taking much time from your day.
Volunteer Stories
Our volunteers tell their stories and why they value nature, wildlife, and protecting northern Michigan.
- For Existing Volunteers (Click below):
- Report Volunteer Hours
- Land Steward Report Form
- Conservation Easement Monitoring Form
- Volunteer Waiver