Volunteer Opportunities
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MCPC Stewardship | Cooper Gristmill |
Friends' Groups | Fosterfields Living Historical Farm |
GardenWorks | Great Swamp Outdoor Education Ctr |
Adopt-a-Trail | Pyramid Mtn Natural Historic Area |
MCPC Stewardship Volunteers
Join our Natural Resources Division in completing important stewardship projects to improve the ecology of our parks. Interested volunteers can check the link below to sign up for periodic volunteer opportunities.
MCPC Stewardship Volunteer Event Sign-up
For more information, contact:
Darrell Jones
Assistant Superintendent of Natural Resources Management
Phone 862.325.7745
Friends' Groups
Morristown, NJ 07962-1295
Morristown, NJ 07960
Morristown, NJ 07960
The Mount Hope Conservancy
Gardenworks
The Frelinghuysen Arboretum, Willowwood Arboretum, and Bamboo Brook Outdoor Education Center welcome you to visit, and hope you become a horticulture volunteer in the GardenWorks program, now in its 22nd year.
For a few hours each week, horticulture volunteers come together and work on a range of garden projects. It’s a rewarding way to have fun, while learning many valuable skills for maintaining and beautifying your garden, including watering, mulching, weeding, edging, trimming, pruning, cutting back, propagating, and raking. All you need to bring is a pair of gloves and enthusiasm. Gardenworks is a flexible, friendly, and fun gardening program for adults of all ages. Tools and refreshments are provided.
The Frelinghuysen Arboretum in Morris Township, once known as Whippany Farm, extends its welcome by featuring beautiful home demonstration gardens, rose and woodland gardens, and collections of shrubs and trees. Willowwood Arbortum, once named Paradise Farm, is situated on 130 acres of rolling farmland and offers Cottage, Mediterranean, Woodland, and Formal gardens. The Lilacs, Magnolias, and Cherries are popular as well. Bamboo Brook Outdoor Education Center, originally known as Merchiston Farm, is the former home of Martha Brookes Hutcheson, one of the first women to be trained as a landscape architect in the United States. The historic gardens were restored in 2010 and include a tumbling stream, two large pools, and extensive plantings.
The GardenWorks volunteers meet each week from April through November, as follows:
- The Frelinghuysen Arboretum meets on Tuesdays, 9 a.m. to 12 noon at the directory in the main parking lot.
- Willowwood Arboretum meets on Wednesdays, 9 a. m. to 12 noon at the directory in the main parking lot.
- Bamboo Brook Outdoor Education Center meets on Thursdays, 9 a.m. to 12 noon in the staff parking area, second left upper parking area. The program has been extended to include the recent garden renovation of this historic site.
Opportunities for community or corporate groups are available by special arrangement. Let the beauty of the gardens surround you while sharing hands-on experiences with others who have similar interests.
Adopt-a-Trail Program
- Trail Watcher – Trail user who reports specific conditions or issues on any trail.
- Trail Keeper – Performs general maintenance on specific trails within the County’s trail system.
- Trail Fun Series – Engages participants in more complex trail maintenance and construction techniques once a month.
Assistant Superintendent of Trails
Phone 973.631.5136
Cooper Gristmill
- Miller’s Assistant - Help staff set up the mill, interpret the technology to visitors, bag flour and/or meal, and assist with closing procedures for the day. Vacuum the mill, and aid in other tasks as needed. With staff, clean the millpond of plant material and dig out the tailrace. Training provided.
- Mill Tour Helpers - Assist with set up for programs, and work with school, camp, scout, and adult groups as they tour the gristmill and partake in various activities. Help with closing, and aid in other tasks deemed necessary. Training provided.
- Program Demonstrators - Help with scheduled programs and special events that feature domestic and industrial chores of that late 19th century. Based on your own expertise, ask us about presenting a program to the public that illustrates a craft or skill of the 1880s.
Mark Sutherland
Phone 973.285.6534
Fosterfields Living Historical Farm
- Farm Tour Guide - Lead school, camp, scout, and adult groups on tours of the historic farm and farmhouse. Engage participants in hands-on activities. Tours are 1½ or 2 hours in length. Training provided.
- Willows Docent - Give tours to children and adults of the historic Gothic Revival mansion, The Willows, built in 1854 for a grandson of Paul Revere. House is restored to the period 1880-1902. Training provided.
- Heirloom Gardener - Assist with the planting, weeding, harvesting, and interpreting the farm garden where vegetables representative of the Fosters’ time period are grown.
- Family Activity Center Assistant - During the spring and fall, assist visitors in making farm and seasonal crafts. Also, interact with the public in playing games that were popular during a bygone era.
- Seamstress - Sew period attire for staff and volunteers. Historic 1920s patterns are provided.
- Clerical Assistant - Help staff with copying and collating documents, labeling and stuffing envelopes, and handing out programs and tickets on busy weekends.
- Collections Volunteer - Help staff maintain the historic artifact collections. Assist with computer data entry, object inventory, and digital photography. Training provided.
Great Swamp Outdoor Education Center
- Weekend Greeter - Help with greeting visitors, phone calls, and providing information about the Center and its activities to visitors so naturalists are free to run programs.
- Special Events - Help with special events such as Earth Day, Maple Sugar Fest, etc. We will provide any training needed for the event.
- Hiking - Assist on hikes.
- Photography - We need help with taking photos at all of our programs.
- Volunteer Form
- Student Volunteer Form
Pyramid Mountain Natural Historic Area
- Weekend Greeter - Help with greeting visitors, phone calls, and providing information about the Center and its activities to visitors so naturalists are free to run programs.
- Special Events - Help with special events such as Monarch Fest, Earth Day, Maple Sugar Fest, etc. We will provide any training needed for the event.
- Hiking - Assist on hikes.
- Snowshoe Sunday Helper- Sweep on hikes and help people try on snowshoes during the winter months.
- Volunteer Form
- Student Volunteer Form