How to Volunteer for the Olympic National Park

There are many volunteer opportunities at Olympic National Park, from maintaining campgrounds to working with rangers to cataloging plant life in old-growth forests. You can research available postings by reviewing the listing on the park's Web site [source:National Parks Service]。The list is pretty extensive, so there's a good chance you'll find an arrangement that works for both you and the park.

Some internships -- typically for college students -- are offered through a partnership with theStudent Conservation Association(SCA).

Those internships, which last three to four months, involve tasks like providing Web page development, organizing and scheduling volunteer activities, repairing tools and equipment used in the park, supervising volunteer orientation and leading weekly coastal clean-ups [source: Student Conservation Association].

Requirements for these internships typically include having a valid driver's license, backpacking and hiking experience, leadership skills and computer knowledge [source: Student Conservation Association]. Housing is typically provided for the duration of the internship, along with wilderness training, basicsearch-and-rescueand wildfire education.

For those interested in a short-term project, Olympic National Park hosts quarterly beach cleanups -- daylong events during which you walk up and down the beach to pick up plastic water bottles, garbage and other marine debris that's washed ashore [source: Coast Savers].

The Washington Trails Association also provides weekend trips into the backcountry to maintain Olympic Park trails [source:Washington Trails Association]。

Read on to discover the benefits of becoming an Olympic National Park volunteer.

If you're interested in communing with nature, meeting new people and/or learning search-and-rescue techniques, you may want to look into volunteering with the Olympic National Park. Especially considering those are just some of thebenefitsof becoming an Olympic National Park Volunteer. And if that's not enough to motivate you to fill out an online application, how about barbecues, free camping and making the world a better place?

You'll also earn the privilege of saying you worked in "three parks in one," since Olympic National Park is renowned for the diversity of its ecosystems, which include glaciers, rain forests and the longest stretch of undeveloped coastline in the lower 48 states [source:UNESCO]。

There are plenty of reasons to volunteer in general as well. It's been said that those who volunteer are more likely to feel high levels of satisfaction. Beyond that, volunteers have reported lower rates of depression and overall better health, both mentally and physically as stated in a study by the Corporation for National & Community Service [source:CityTownInfo]。

Like any volunteer opportunity, you should consider your personal interests before deciding where to sign on. But if you volunteer at Olympic National Park, you may just be rewarded by spotting an endangered northern spotted owl, marbled murrelet or bull trout.

And from sea level, the park rises to almost 8,000 feet at Mount Olympus -- all in fewer than 40 miles. Now that's something to write home about.

For more on how to volunteer with Olympic National Park, see the links on the following page.