Opportunities From: Tennessee State Parks

RMSP is looking for volunteers interested in hiking and trail building to assist our park with maintaining and improving park trails.  Trail maintenance can be done in a general fashion or by adopting a trail to monitor and maintain on a regular basis.  Maintenance duties include lopping overgrowth, leaf blowing, blazing trails, assisting park rangers with trail structures, and utilizing Avenza Maps to mark any issues found while inspecting trails.  

To register as a trail volunteer, please contact Ranger Marco Rodriguez at Marco.Rodriguez@tn.gov to schedule a time!

We have a multitude of container and traditional gardens leading up to and surrounding the Miller Farmstead. Over time, we'd like to convert each of these plots into arrangements of native and traditionally-relevant perennial plants that will provide eco-services to local wildlife and be beautiful to look at for our visitors. 

We are currently recruiting regular service volunteers to adopt small garden plots to maintain on a regular basis. Maintenance can be as little as tackling weeds in an existing plot for half an hour twice a month during the growing season, or as much as designing appropriate plantings and working with staff to renew a bed from start to finish.

This is an opportunity where experienced gardeners can work relatively independently, but we are happy to provide training and direction to inexperienced gardeners where needed. Bring your own tools and gloves, or use ours. 

If you'd like a smaller project to manage that will make a big difference and be seen and enjoyed by millions of visitors, we welcome your help. 

Interested in history or have experience with historic preservation? Are you needing volunteer hours to receive or maintain a related certification? Roan Mountain State Park is in the process of researching and cataloging holdings into our newly established park archives. We are looking for volunteers to assist with preservation and archival activites.

Shifts are flexible and will be scheduled as volunteers and park staff are available. Activities will include coordinating as a team to carefully move objects (which may be both heavy and delicate), bending, reaching overhead, climbing a step ladder, and more. 

For more information, please respond to this opportunity. Ranger staff will contact you to discuss what you are interested in contributing and to coordinate further. 

Roan Mountain State Park is seeking a pool of regular service volunteers to assist with family-friendly craft events, such as the Christmas Craft Spectacular, and on summer holiday weekends (Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day). Specific responsibilities and scheduling are flexible, but could include: 

Planning and/or hosting nature-related and/or traditional craft activities Planning and preparing refreshments for craft events Helping with event setup & takedown

A background check may be required for assistance with some events. 

Specific 2024 dates include:

Memorial Day Weekend (Saturday- Sunday) - Heritage Crafts on the Visitor Center Porch 4th of July Weekend (Thursday - Sunday) - Help participants decorate for Bicycle Parade + Nature & Heritage Crafts on the Visitor Center Porch Labor Day Weekend (Saturday - Sunday) - Nature & Heritage Crafts on the Visitor Center Porch Christmas Craft Spectacular (December 21, 2-4pm) - Nature, Heritage & Holiday Crafts at the Conference Center

Once a month for our speaker series, we need help setting up & taking down chairs, arranging refreshments and making & monitoring coffee. 

If you would like to support our Coffee & Culture series as a volunteer, we'd love to have your help!

For each scheduled date, setup starts at 6:00 PM and takedown starts at 9pm. 

Do you like to paint? Want to make a difference? Roan Mountain is recruiting detail-oriented volunteers to help with various paint projects across the park. So far, planned projects for 2023 include:

-Miller Farmstead Farmhouse & Outbuildings

-Visitor Center Interior Museum Walls

More projects will be announced soon! 

 

The Dave and Louisa Miller family came to Ripshin Mountain in 1870, having leased the land from General John T. Wilder. Over the following 90+ years, 3 generations of Millers lived a subsistence farming lifestyle characteristic of those who populated the lands that now comprise Roan Mountain State Park. Throughout the warmer months, park interpreters offer tours of the Miller Farmstead to share the story of Roan Mountain's pre-park history. 

We are seeking volunteer tour guides who are interested in telling the story of the Miller Farmstead to park visitors. Interested volunteers must be able to:

Learn and deliver a scripted tour lasting approximately 45 minutes (with training and support) Stand, walk on uneven ground, navigate uneven steps during the tour.  Welcome and manage groups of up to 10 guests as they visit the house. Follow rules & regulations Convey customer service details to park guests. Be comfortable in a farm setting, which includes livestock. Be comfortable in inclement, muddy weather.

Tour volunteers have the option of dressing in period clothing, subject to site manager's approval. 

Tours are offered to the public daily through October, and volunteer schedules can be flexible. If you have an interest in helping us fulfill our park's historical mission by hosting tours at the Miller Farmstead, we welcome your assistance!

Roan Mountain State Park is in need of sewists and quilters to assist with creating and maintaining clothing, quilts, ticking bags, curtains, and other sewn items to furnish the Miller Farmstead. The park can provide patterns, notions and material (donations are also welcome) and are available to consult on historical construction techniques and details.

If you are interested in a flexible work-from-home volunteer service opportunity that will have an enormous impact on our guest experience, we would love to have your help. 

The Miller Farmstead was built in 1908 and is preserved as a reminder of the communities that populated these mountains in the early 20th century. The farmstead is open for daily tours from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day and weekends through October. Because of staffing limitations, we rely on volunteer service to support our farmstead programs.

We are seeking living history enthusiasts to demonstrate historic crafts, farm work & trade skills at the farmstead. If you have an interest in historical research, costuming, and skills, we'd love to help you develop a living history program to deliver at the Miller Farmstead this summer.

All living history programs at the farmstead are subject to site manager review and should be centered on early 20th century subsistence farming and regional history. 

Are you a farm kid at heart? Want to get your hands dirty for a good cause? Many hands make light work and we need more hands!

The Miller Farmstead is on the National Register of Historic Places because it represents the history of Appalachian subsistence farming. The farm features an early 20th century farmhouse and outbuildings, a (retired) horse, chickens, native and ornamental gardens, orchard, and composting operations. 

We need general assistance with a variety of projects, including:

Pruning, Planting & Weeding Turning compost Minor repairs to buildings Fencing Interior & Exterior Cleanup Painting Moving heavy objects Barn chores More!

If you'd like to help with routine maintenance at the farmstead, we'd love to have your help and we will work with you to schedule service hours at your convenience. If you have a specific relevant skill (fencing, landscape design, historic home maintenance) you'd like to offer, please let us know.