Opportunities From: Tennessee State Parks

Rock Island State Park needs your help! Join us as we clean up the Caney Fork River. Tasks will include cleaning up litter along the Caney Fork River Gorge between Twin Falls and Great Falls. This area is fairly strenuous, rocky, and wet so please plan accordingly.

If you need to complete community service or volunteer service hours to fulfill a requirement for scholarships, graduation, fraternity/sorority obligations, etc., this is a great opportunity to get those hours. Volunteers should plan on meeting Rangers at the Downstream Trail Parking Area at the end of Powerhouse Road at 10:00am. Volunteers will be briefed and given trash bags, trash grabbers, and gloves.

Please bring water and snacks if you would like and wear appropriate footwear/attire for the weather.

We honor all TN promise hours. 

If you have any questions about this volunteer workday, please feel free to reach out via email (josh.1.welch@tn.gov) or phone (931-913-6497).

In case of inclement weather, volunteers will be contacted, and the event will be canceled. Please provide a good phone number and email address when registering.

Reducing the incidence of invasive plants in wild places allows time and space for the flourishing of a diverse biotic community. The exclusion of rare, endemic, or specialist species in an ecologically globalized world is common.

However, uncommon and extremely valuable are the ecological stewards who can help alleviate this pressure and provide time for ecological adaptation. Do you live in a "world of wounds" so eloquently described by the father of Conservation Biology, Aldo Leopold? Do you want to help keep all the parts on the landscape and be the intelligent tinkerer, the steward, that wild places demand of us?

Join the Rock Island State Park team in the establishment of our first ever ongoing volunteer based Invasive Species Strike Team. Your actions will have a direct impact on the success of endemic, rare, and threatened species in the park. Your volunteerism matters! Your actions can have an impact for generations!

The strike team will use hand tools, mechanical tools, and herbicide to target and remove the identified invasive plants in Rock Island State Park. Previous experience is not required; training and guidance will be given. 

The strike team is designed with you in mind and built around the team's interest and schedule. Learn practical skills for wildlife habitat improvement, learn plant identification, apply ecological principles in real time with satisfying feedback. The strike team can be a group you are already a part of. Are you a wildlife student with a group of classmates looking for a curriculum vitae boost? Do you have a group of friends who love wild places and want to give back?

If this sounds like you and you want to learn more, click respond and leave a message with your contact information. Thanks for your volunteerism!

Are you passionate about trails? Do you daydream about your next hike? Do you want to give back to the day hiking and thru-hiking community?

If you answered yes to any of these questions then we would love to have you join us in the design, creation, and maintenance of the trail systems at Rock Island State Park! Join our passionate staff in creating a legacy of hiking access!

This volunteer position will help us meet ongoing needs for trail work park wide. The Trailblazer brings their experiences and perspectives to design and care of trails. The Trailblazer leads the way for other volunteers, is someone who has a steward's heart, and is a lover of wild places. Do you have hiking friends who would like to help? Are you already organizing excursions for your hiking squad? Help us clear trails of obstacles, establish tread-paths, map future routes, and blaze the trail for others to follow. 

Does this sound like you?

Want to know more and talk to a Ranger? Click Respond and leave a message with your contact information. Thank you for your volunteerism!

Are you interested in recreating with purpose? Do you seek adventure and new experiences? If so, working with the Rock Island team to explore and understand Rock Island State Park may be the perfect avenue for giving back & learning new skills!

We are interested in your passion, hobby, educational aspirations, or outdoor pursuits. What do you love about TN State Parks? Are you a lover of geology, botany, birds, salamanders, trails, fishing, hiking, or maybe you long to just be in wild places. Whatever motivates you, we need your drive to help us monitor the health of the species, assemblages, and processes that exist within Rock Island State Park.

Specifically, we hope to employ volunteers to conduct bird surveys during their time in the park and visit designated survey locations in the park. We need volunteers to help conduct floristic surveys using scientific sampling techniques. Gaining a more complete picture of the plants that live in the park and their response to management efforts is critical! We will show you the skills to map, identify, and monitor the spread of invasive plant species and will guide you through how your activities can benefit the long-term stewardship of your wild places.

Discover scientific exploration at your doorstep while having fun and helping to protect wild places for the future!

Our State Parks are beautiful and unique places that should be enjoyed by everyone. Unfortunately, trash and litter always seems to make its way into the parks as well and sometimes there just is not enough time in a day to clean it all up. We need your help to keep the park beautiful and in return, you will earn volunteer service hours and a feeling of accomplishment.

This is an ongoing opportunity for community members and those who need volunteer hours to assist with clean-up duties throughout the park in areas with high levels of debris and/or litter. Trash bags and gloves will be provided to you by the park. Sturdy, closed toes shoes are required for this opportunity. All minors must be accompanied by an adult. 

Please contact the site supervisor to schedule your visit. Each participant must sign a liability waiver before volunteering to receive credit.