Through Volunteer Service, we provide educational outreach, while also helping conserve and restore the natural resources in this and surrounding areas. We cover a large area that offers many wonderful volunteer opportunities; if you know of a new opportunity that doesn’t appear on our calendar, you can request that it be added.
What are Volunteer Service hours?
Volunteer service hours are those hours that meet the Chapter’s purpose and for which no financial compensation or salary is received. Volunteer service is time spent on one or more of the following:
- Education
- Resource management projects
- Chapter development and management (for example, serving as a Board or committee member)Preparation time directly related to planning and coordinating Advanced Training or Volunteer Service
- Travel to and from Volunteer Service locations that does not exceed the amount of time dedicated to the training session or volunteer effort
- Travel is not permitted for advanced training events
Criteria for volunteer service
Volunteer service should meet one or more of the following criteria:
- Meets the goals, practices and teachings of the Texas Master Naturalist Program
- Addresses a pressing need for meaningful service in education, natural resource management or management of the Chapter or the State Program
- Does not exceed our resource capabilities
- Falls within the area we service
- Creates Chapter visibility, identity, cohesiveness or serves as a recruitment mechanism
- Has measurable results
Approving a program or project
Programs or projects that meet the above criteria and are sponsored by the Chapter or its sponsors or partners, or by the State Master Naturalist Program or its sponsors.
Any other program or project must be pre-approved by the Volunteer Service Director. You should submit a GBAC Volunteer Service Form fill-in by email. Allow adequate time for the form to be processed.
The pre-approval process is important for the following reasons:
- Ensures that volunteers are covered by the sponsoring program’s insurance
- Helps us maintain a comprehensive list of volunteer opportunities
- Ensures that the needs of the Chapter and our partners are met
- Avoids mistaken assumptions – hours reported without pre-approval may be denied!
Finding available opportunities
Some volunteer opportunities are one-time events; many are recurring, typically associated with partners. Opportunities tend to fall into the following categories:
- Chapter-sponsored and Partner-sponsored events/programs (see What We Do)
- We work hard to publicize opportunities, most of which appear on the calendar that forms an integral part of this website.
- You’ll also receive emails from the Chapter providing more information about opportunities; fliers are provided at Chapter meetings.
More information
To answer any questions on Volunteer Service, contact our Volunteer Service Director.