By Bernheim
Was your New Year’s resolution to give back this year? Do you love nature and want to get your hands dirty? We have the perfect opportunity for you – become a volunteer at Bernheim. On Saturday, January 19, we have two great opportunities for you to begin your volunteer journey.
Bernheim’s 200+ volunteers help us with every part of our daily operations, from weeding, mulching, etc to providing visitors with educational programs to removing invasive species to maintaining our trails and more. Whether you can serve 2 hours or 200, your help is vital to Bernheim’s mission of connecting people with nature. In addition, it’s a great way to learn more about nature from our team of knowledgeable staff and to make friends with other volunteers.
The best way to get started volunteering is to attend an orientation training, which are offered quarterly. Join us on Saturday, January 19, 10 a.m – noon for the first training of 2019. During this session, you will learn a bit about Bernheim’s history in addition to learning more about the volunteer program. For more information or to register, please contact Volunteer Coordinator, Renée Hutchison via email or by calling (502) 215-7148.
For an application, examples of some of Bernheim’s volunteer opportunities, or to learn more, click here. We encourage you to let us know of your special skills and interests so we can find a volunteer project or position that is fun and beneficial for everyone.
Do you consider yourself a die-hard nature lover and find yourself constantly telling others about your passion? Join Bernheim’s award-winning Volunteer Naturalist program. Led by Wren Smith, Adult Programs Manager (and award-winning interpreter), the naturalist program is a volunteer effort to nourish each person’s love of nature, while helping to provide tools to share the knowledge, wonder, and passion with Bernheim visitors and the community of Volunteer Naturalists. The program offers intensive, yet is flexible enough to fit many schedules.
Bernheim’s dedicated 
Volunteer Naturalists help people of all ages understand and connect with the natural world in a way that fosters deep emotional and intellectual connections.
Bernheim’s volunteer naturalists provide more than half of our public programs — leading Star Stories and Full Moon Hikes, Creatures of the Night, Bernheim Back Roads tours, and Bernheim Lunch and Learn programs, as well as our First Sunday Nature Hikes. They offer Discovery Experiences and nature hikes during our ECO Kids days and guided interpretation of Bernheim’s Fire Tower. They serve as our volunteer beekeepers, providing opportunities for visitors to see these important pollinators up close and personal. They also lovingly make costumes and props that make our faerie and bug parades come to life.
If you’re interested in learning more, a Volunteer Naturalist Orientation will also be held for the only time in 2019 on Saturday, January 19, 1-3 p.m. following the general orientation. The orientation for Volunteer Naturalists only takes place once each year, but there will be other ways to get involved if you miss this training. Registration is free, but required for this session. Please contact Wren via email for more information or to register.
Both programs will be held at the Education Center. Inclement weather alternate date for both sessions is Saturday, January 26, 2019.
