Volunteer Events
Friends of the Inyo believes we should all do our part to give back to the land as much as we get out of it. We aim to foster an ethic of public lands stewardship through our volunteer events. Working with partners and land management agencies, we engage the public throughout the year. Most opportunities for volunteering occur in the spring through the fall in and around the Owens Valley and in the high Sierra.
Friends of the Inyo leads a variety of volunteer opportunities from short events to multi-day wilderness stewardship.
- Wilderness Weeks (Multi-Day Volunteering Opportunities). Every year, Friends of the Inyo partners with our U.S. National Forest partners to take volunteers into the backcountry wilderness to maintain trails, restore campsites, dismantle and clear out obsolete cattle fencing, and more. Wilderness projects take place in scenic, remote locations throughout the high country. In past years we’ve traveled to Fourth Recess Lake, Humphreys Basin, Shadow Creek, and Cottonwood Creek.
- Clean Up Events (Half-Day Volunteering Opportunities). Annual clean up events include June Lake trails day, Adopt-a-Crag events in climbing areas, and National Public lands day projects.
- Direct Service Projects. (Half-Day Volunteering Opportunities.) Various direct service projects help the community give back while supporting our policy campaigns for permanent protection. Examples include helping with standardized wilderness assessment surveys or repairing fencing to protect Cottonwood Creek and the Bodie Hills.
Find volunteer opportunities when they are available by visiting our events calendar. There you will find the particulars about each volunteering opportunity, where to meet, what to bring, etc., and will be able to fill out a sign-up form for whatever volunteer event calls out to you.
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Updates
Death Valley National Park needs hearty citizen science volunteers to help with annual monitoring of endemic plant species at the Eureka Dunes. This is a great activity for giving back to nature during Earth Day Month! Monitoring will be strenuous, requiring climbing to the tops of tall dunes and hiking up to five miles each day. Volunteers are encouraged to commit to an entire four-day monitoring period if possible. You can choose from the following dates: April 10-13, April 17-20, or April 24-27. At least two volunteers are needed for each four-day volunteer assignment. Volunteers will camp with park staff…
Yee-haw: It’s time for another edition of Stewardship Round-Up! Though this is our penultimate issue of this monthly dispatch, never fear and shed no tear, for we have a great re-cap for you this month. Recap compiled by Alex Ertaud, Stewardship Director for Friends of the Inyo August is always a great month for the Trail Ambassadors (TAs) to sink their teeth into some meatier projects they may have been eyeing and scouting in June and July. So, without further ado, here are some highlights of what the TAs have been up to this month: From Bradley Olson, Trail Ambassador…
Read some exciting progress notes from our Trail Ambassadors, with an introduction and post-note from Stewardship Director Alex Ertaud. “We’re thick into the Dog Days of summer, hitting the midway point of our season, and the Trail Ambassadors (TAs) just keep on rolling! Alongside our Forest Service partners, our TAs have been up to some amazing work. But don’t take my word for it: Let’s hear it from the TAs themselves! Here are some highlights from their last month of work in north-to-south order depending on the Ranger District to which each of them is assigned.” From Bradley Olson, TA…