Want to Get Involved?
Put your love of the land to work! Volunteering on the Reserve will deepen your appreciation for these incredible open spaces, and all the joy, awe, and life they bring to Orange County. With so many organizations working together to steward the NROC, there are volunteer opportunities for every interest and availability.
Choose Your Level of Commitment
Join a community volunteer event.
Guided stewardship activities are regularly hosted across the NROC—no conservation experience or extended time commitment necessary. Spend a few hours beautifying butterfly habitats, harvesting seeds at a native plant farm, or cleaning up our coastal wetlands. There are all kinds of opportunities for low-stakes commitment with high-yield results. Come on your own, or bring some friends, these volunteer events are a fun and rewarding way to nourish yourself with nature, give back to your community, and support the lands that make Orange County so wild and wonderful.
Become a trained volunteer or trail guide.
Get to know the land and its inhabitants on a whole new level by becoming a lead volunteer or trail guide. You’ll receive specialized training from NROC conservation and land management experts, who’ll share their passion and extensive knowledge so that you can lead tours and activities—from mountain bike treks to family-friendly nature walks—throughout the parks, passing on your own enthusiasm to fellow park goers.
Do good as a group.
Maybe you want to gather your extended family for a day of giving back. Or perhaps you’re looking for a team-building event. Many of the volunteer opportunities that take place on the Reserve can accommodate a group of up to 15 people. But larger groups are welcome too! Organizers can reach out to Irvine Ranch Conservancy or Crystal Cove Conservancy to coordinate a large group volunteer activity. The impact on participants is just as positive as the effects on the habitats in need.
Make a donation.
If you don’t have the time or inclination to get your hands dirty, you can still support the ongoing preservation at your favorite park. There are a handful of nonprofit organizations caring for the Reserve that gladly accept tax-deductible donations, including the Natural Communities Coalition, Laguna Canyon Foundation, Irvine Ranch Conservancy, Crystal Cove Conservancy, and Newport Bay Conservancy.
Find a Volunteer Organization
Crystal Cove State Park
There are many opportunities for friendly and enthusiastic folks at this California State Park that spans from the coastline to expansive backcountry. Some of these duties include conducting interpretive hikes and programs, educating the public about resource protection, and encouraging compliance with park rules and regulations. Here are a few of the different programs:
Docents
Lead hikes, walks, and talks including backcountry hikes, beach walks, tidepool talks, nature photo walks, and geology walks.
Tidepool Volunteers
Educate the public through roving interpretation about the State Marine Protected Area as well as tidepool ecology and preservation of the fragile ecosystem. Volunteers provide information, help identify creatures, and remind park visitors about proper tidepool etiquette.
Trail Assistant Volunteers
Patrol the backcountry either on mountain bike or on foot and provide valuable information about the backcountry to park staff. Trail assistance may include providing route recommendations and directions, helping with trail repair, or providing emergency communications.
Volunteers/Park Hosts
Staff the Historic District Visitor Center. They greet and welcome park visitors and provide information and education about the 12-acre Historic District, the overnight accommodations, and the park’s resources.
Park Store
Volunteers staff the interpretive store in the Historic District. They welcome the public and provide cheerful customer service while selling store merchandise.
Landscape Crew
Volunteers maintain the landscaped and native areas of the park primarily within the Historic District by weeding, pruning, planting, watering, raking, and mulching.
Camp Hosts
Assist park staff in providing information, direction, and service to park visitors and assist with both operational and interpretive services. Hosts are recruited to be visible representatives of the Department at campsites. As a condition of their service, hosts may reside in a designated state park unit for up to six months.
Crystal Cove Conservancy
Crystal Cove Conservancy is the nonprofit organization partnered with Crystal Cove State Park working to restore the park, educate future environmental leaders, and protect Crystal Cove for generations to come. The Crystal Cove Conservancy offers meaningful opportunities for corporate stewardship, including employee volunteer days.
Irvine Ranch Conservancy
Irvine Ranch Conservancy is a nonprofit that ensures the protection, restoration, and enhancement of urban wildlands in Southern California, including the Irvine Ranch Natural Landmarks—over 40,000 acres of precious open space, some of which is part of the Nature Reserve of Orange County. There are numerous ways to get involved, from single-day drop-in volunteer activities to training as a regular volunteer leader.
Community Volunteers
If you are looking for a way to give back to the land or experience it in a different way, consider registering for a Community Volunteer activity. These guided activities are designed to give the community a chance to have a meaningful, positive impact on wildlands in Orange County. Opportunities to volunteer are available for all schedules and levels of interest—whether you’re looking for a few hours of giving back with your friends or family, or a more rugged adventure to remote restoration sites. Use the “Stewardship” filter on the activity page for a list of upcoming stewardship activities around Orange County and at the Native Seed Farm.
Group Volunteers
There are many single-day volunteer activities hosted on LetsGoOutside that are suitable for groups. There are even some volunteer activities that families can participate in together. Groups of up to 15 people can usually be accommodated within a previously scheduled activity. Larger groups will require additional coordination and placement on a project is pending availability. A minimum of four weeks planning time is necessary, and a supply fee may be charged. If your group is interested in meaningful and impactful group volunteering projects, please contact the Irvine Ranch Conservancy at 714-508-4757 or info@irconservancy.org
IRC-Certified Volunteers
One of the most rewarding ways to experience the beauty of the Irvine Ranch Natural Landmarks is as an IRC-certified volunteer. These volunteers have a crucial role in caring for the land and connecting people to it, whether it is leading an interpretive mountain bike ride through Fremont Canyon or a fitness hike on Hicks Haul Road, teaching middle school students about ecosystems in Limestone Canyon, helping to maintain a trail near Bommer Canyon, planting oak seedlings near Weir Canyon, or serving as a Fire Watch lookout to protect both the land and adjacent neighborhoods from wildfires.
Laguna Canyon Foundation
Laguna Canyon Foundation is a nonprofit dedicated to the conservation and ongoing protection of the South Coast Wilderness—22,000 acres of open space, that includes Laguna Coast and Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Parks, Crystal Cove State Park, and open space in Irvine, Laguna Woods, and Laguna Beach. Surrounded by Orange County’s busy network of freeways and cities, the South Coast Wilderness provides an increasingly rare and valuable refuge, one that you can support as a Laguna Canyon Foundation volunteer, whether you have a few hours, or the capacity for deeper commitment.
Short-Term Volunteers
Ready to get a little dirty while helping preserve Laguna Canyon’s rich biodiverse habitat? Join them for a morning of maintaining trails, restoring habitat or tending to the plants in their native nursery. No formal training required.
Long-Term Volunteers
Have you been on a few guided hikes, engaged in some trail stewardship, or helped at restoration sites? Are you ready to gain additional expertise and protect the land you love? Long-term volunteering may be for you. It’s a fun commitment that requires OC Parks volunteer orientation, CPR/First Aid certification, a background check, site training to receive OC Parks facilities certification, and Laguna Canyon Foundation volunteer orientation.
Lets Go Outside
Lets Go Outside is a collaboration between landowners, land managers, and environmental nonprofit organizations to provide the community with easy access to information about natural resources and opportunities to experience nature in Orange County. In addition to hosting and listing guided activities taking place throughout the Nature Reserve of Orange County, it also the place to discover and register for all kinds of volunteering opportunities, at many of the NROC parks. Simply filter activities by “Stewardship,” “Trail Work,” or “Fire Watch” to see what’s happening.
Newport Bay Conservancy
Newport Bay Conservancy is a nonprofit working to protect and preserve the Upper Newport Bay, much of which is part of the NROC’s protected lands (including Upper Newport Bay Ecological Reserve and Upper Newport Bay Nature Preserve). Whether you are drawn to people or nature, to the indoors or outdoors, there is a volunteer niche for you at Upper Newport Bay! They have opportunities for those who want to help out for a couple hours a year and those interested in committing on a regular basis. Check out these three levels of volunteering to see where you fit.
Community Volunteers
Individuals, families, and groups are all welcome to volunteer at the Bay with our ongoing restoration and cleanup efforts. No orientation or training required. Many volunteers get their feet wet, so to speak, at Coastal Cleanup Day typically held on the third Saturday of September. September through February (non-nesting season in the Bay) they also host occasional additional cleanup events. Restoration of natural habitat has been an important part of their work since 1990, and they host community-based restoration programs throughout the year.
Associate Volunteers
If you have the time and energy to commit to volunteering on a more regular basis, become an Associate Volunteer! Associates staff the Interpretive Center front desk, conduct outreach, help organize special events, assist with water and walking tours and other education programs, perform stewardship activities, and provide administrative, fundraising and community relations support.
Naturalist Volunteers
Since 1990, Newport Bay Conservancy has sponsored a Naturalist Training Class, a prestigious course taught by experts in each field, which provides in-depth knowledge about the natural history and ecology of the Bay and prepares volunteers to share this knowledge with the public as the leaders of our programs. Expanded in 2022 to better support leadership development, the course now consists of a fall knowledge-acquisition component and a spring skills-building and practice component.
OC Parks
OC Parks encompasses 60,000 acres of parkland, open space and shoreline throughout the County of Orange, including many acres that are part of the Nature Reserve of Orange County. Whether you’re interested in volunteering for a single short-term project, or are interested in a regular position as a nature center docent, OC Parks offers a variety of volunteer services with something for everyone. Here are a few options:
Volunteer for a park/trail restoration day.
These are short-term opportunities where the public can help maintain and sustain the parks we all enjoy and love, and also learn the Whys and Hows of trail/habitat maintenance at County parks.
Register as an OC Parks volunteer.
Want to become even more involved? OC Parks offers volunteer training, and regularly calls on these trained folks to be nature center volunteers, education docents, trail crew, restoration leads, and more.
Join the Ranger Reserves or Orange County Fire Watch.
Volunteer opportunities are also available for individuals desiring a more rigorous public service experience.
UCI Nature
You can also volunteer directly with UCI Nature at the UCI Ecological Preserve, where you can help maintain habitat for native wildlife, plant native species, get involved in research projects, or join their monthly bird surveys.
Photo by: IRC photo