Volunteer

The Shaver’s Creek Work Project Program is for university and community service organizations that want to spend a minimum of 3 hours at Shaver’s Creek assisting with large improvement projects (trail work, landscaping, painting, etc.), where many hands make light work. The variety and number of projects we offer is ideal for any organization to earn service hours!

What will my group be doing?

• Trail maintenance (invasive plant removal, brush clearing, erosion control, sign maintenance, bridge repair)
• Landscaping (weeding, planting, mulching, gardening, building flower beds)
• Carpentry (building and painting signs, repairing benches, painting buildings - inside and outside, repairing exhibits)

What’s expected of us?

• Sign up for a work project date, detailing the size of your group and contact information for your leader/service chair
• Show up to your work day on time and ready to work (wear closed-toe shoes and clothes to work outside that can get dirty)
• Be a positive role model, representing Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center and Penn State in front of diverse audiences

We are ready to start. What's next?

• Sign your group up for a work project: Current Group Volunteer Opportunities.
• You will receive an automatic email with more details upon checkout.
• Don't see a date that fits your group's schedule? Fill out the Group Volunteer Interest Form.

Trail crew members are dedicated volunteers who monitor, maintain, and protect trails and natural areas, ensuring they are safe, sustainable, and enjoyable for everyone.

Responsibilities include:

• Monitoring and Reporting: Regularly walk assigned trails to check conditions, identify hazards (like blowdowns, erosion, etc.), and report needs to land managers.
• Basic Maintenance: Clear encroaching branches, manage drainage (installing water bars), maintain boardwalks/stairs, and spread wood chips.
• Structural Care: Help maintain benches, bridges, signs, and other trail infrastructure.
• Invasive Species Control: Help manage non-native plants that threaten the ecosystem.
• User Education: Encourage responsible trail use and enforce "Leave No Trace" principles.
• Physical Labor: The work often involves moderate physical activity outdoors in varying weather conditions, including digging, bending, reaching, hauling brush, and pushing a wheelbarrow.

Landscape crew members are dedicated volunteers who monitor, maintain, and protect our garden beds and outdoor plantings, ensuring they are safe, sustainable, and enjoyable for everyone.

Responsibilities include:

• Plant Care: Watering, weeding, pruning, and planting seeds, bulbs, or new plants.
• Maintenance: Mowing lawns, raking, mulching, and generally keeping outdoor spaces tidy.
• Pest Control: Learning to identify weeds, pests, and diseases and implementing control methods, which may involve cutting, pulling, biological controls, or fertilizers.
• Equipment Use: Operating various hand and power tools like pruners, lawnmowers, and potentially irrigation systems.
• Physical Labor: The work often involves moderate physical activity outdoors in varying weather conditions, including digging, bending, reaching, kneeling, and pushing a wheelbarrow.

Technical crew members are dedicated volunteers who monitor, maintain, and protect our facility, inside and out, ensuring it is safe, sustainable, and enjoyable for everyone.

Responsibilities include:

• Light Carpentry: Building and repairing structures (bridges, stairs, decking, etc.), sanding, painting.
• Prop Making: Designing and building props and exhibits for Center programs and events.
• Cleaning: Keeping the inside of the buildings clean (restrooms, windows, refuse & recycling) and keeping the exterior of the buildings clean (litter picking, pressure washing, gutter cleaning).
• Equipment Use: Operating various hand and power tools like drills, sanders, saws, pressure washers, and vacuums.
• Physical Labor: The work often involves moderate physical activity indoors and outdoors in varying weather conditions, including climbing step stools, bending, reaching, carrying lumber and other materials, kneeling, and crawling.

Citizen Science volunteers monitor, maintain, and collect data for our Feeder Watch, Nest Box, and Monarch Migration programs.

Responsibilities include:

• Light Carpentry: Building and repairing structures (bird boxes, bird feeders, etc.), sanding, painting.
• Cleaning: Cleaning bird feeders, cleaning nestboxes before birds nest, etc.
• Monitoring: Collecting and cataloging data on birds that visit feeders and use nest boxes, and on butterflies that visit our milkweed patch.
• Equipment Use: Operating various hand and power tools like drills, sanders, saws; use computers and recording equipment for data collection.
• Physical Labor: The work often involves minor physical activity indoors and outdoors in varying weather conditions, including climbing step stools, bending, reaching, carrying materials, and walking trails.