Volunteer

10-year old Lola visits with her friend Dorenda, a volunteer at the park, at Keystone Arch.

NPS

Volunteer opportunities at Petrified Forest National Park are as diverse as the natural and cultural resources. This is the place to use skills you already have or to learn new ones.

Housing is available for volunteers but is limited, especially in the summer. A minimum workweek of 32 hours for volunteers and 40 hours for student interns, as well as a 2 month minimum commitment, is required to be eligible for park housing. Available housing includes:

• 3-bedroom, 2-bath houses for 3 or more volunteers, student interns, and/or researchers
• 1-bedroom apartments, usually reserved for couples
• trailer spaces with hookups.

Positions are in Interpretation, Resource Management, Administration, and Maintenance. See below for some of the duties within each division.

 

Volunteer Matt guides a Historic Blue Forest Trail hike

NPS/Dorenda Walters

Interpretation

• visitor center operations
• presenting formal programs and making informal visitor contacts throughout the park
• behind-the-scenes work, including correspondence, word processing, creative writing, coordinating special events, web work, and photography

Resource Management

• habitat restoration
• flora and fauna documentation
• boundary surveys
• data entry
• water and air quality monitoring
• archeology and paleontology research projects
• management and care of the park museum collection objects

 

Volunteer Jack helping during Kite Day event

NPS/Betsy LeBlanc

Administration

• word processing
• correspondence
• research for special projects

Maintenance

• fence repair
• trail maintenance
• trash pickup and custodial duties
• carpentry, plumbing, electrical, or painting jobs if you have certifications

 

To apply for a volunteer position, send a Volunteer Application (pdf) to the address below. Include a cover letter listing the dates you are available and your reasons for applying to Petrified Forest National Park. If you are a full-time or part-time student applying for a student internship, you must include your educational history.

To apply, or to find out more regarding the Petrified Forest National Park volunteer program, please contact the volunteer coordinator at Petrified Forest National Park:

Petrified Forest National Park
PO Box 2217 1 Park Road #2217
Attn.: Volunteer Coordinator
Petrified Forest , AZ 86028-2217

e-mail us

Phone: [phone] ext 245

 

Current Volunteer Opportunities