All NDC volunteers MUST complete a volunteer application found here: NDC Volunteer Application  

After submitting your form, give us 24 hours to process your application. Once you have been approved, you will be able to log in and start signing up for volunteer shifts. If your application has not been approved within 24 hours, please email to follow up with us.

Schoolyear Teen Volunteers

During the schoolyear, teens may serve in a number of volunteer roles that are essential to our daily operations. Teens may serve as Front Desk Greeters, Discovery Room Docents, and Animal Care Assistants, or they may serve as Park Volunteers to help us care for our gardens and nature park.

Special training is required of all Animal Care Assistants, and these volunteer shifts do not appear in our Better Impact Volunteer Portal. If you are interested in pursuing an Animal Care Assistant position, please fill out an application in Better Impact, then follow up with an email to our Animal Care Coordinator.

 

Park Volunteers, including teens, who are unable to work on Thursday mornings during regular Park Workdays, should reach out to our Park Steward to inquire about setting up a regular volunteer schedule that is mutually beneficial.

Summer Volunteer Positions

Teen volunteers play a key role in our summer programs. 

Our 2025 Summer Science Camp Counselor and Summer Animal Care positions have already been filled. Please check out Better Impact Volunteer Portal for other summer volunteer opportunities like Discovery Room Docents, or volunteer shifts for special events.

Animal Care Assistants
We need motivated, reliable individuals who are at least of 15 years of age who love and are comfortable with a variety of animals to commit to scheduled volunteering at the NDC to help us care for our ambassador animals. Mandatory training is provided in either English or Spanish. Your time commitment: 1 set day a week for 1 – 3 hours depending on daily tasks. All animal care duties need to be completed between the hours of 10a – 5p Monday – Saturday or between 10a – 4p on Sundays. Duties include, but are not limited to: cleaning enclosures, washing food and water dishes, preparing diets and feeding animals, providing enrichment.
Front Desk Greeters
Help greet visitors and orient them to the rooms that they are welcome to explore and the kinds of activities they may be interested in during their visit. Direct visitors to resources available to them and to relevant upcoming programs and events. Keep statistics on visitation. We offer 2 different shifts (1 – 3:30 and 3:30 – 5:30) Tuesdays through Saturdays during the school year. During the Summer our shifts are 10 am to 2 pm Saturday and Sunday depending on staff availability. (Training provided)
Discovery Room Docents
Discovery Room Docents greet visitors in the Discovery Rooms, demonstrate how visitors should touch our specimens, answer questions about our Animal Ambassadors and any natural history specimens on display, and monitor visitor behavior. Docents also alert staff when a visitor requests to touch an Animal Ambassador. We offer 2 different shifts (1 – 3:30 and 3:30 – 5:30) Tuesdays through Saturdays during the school year. During the Summer our shifts are 10 am to 2 pm Saturday and Sunday depending on staff availability. (Training provided)
Park Volunteers
Park Volunteers work with our Park Steward to complete park maintenance tasks like watering and weeding gardens, removing invasive species, tending to our ADA trails by adding decomposed granite, and more. You should bring a refillable water bottle to stay hydrated, and you should dress comfortably for outdoor work. No experience is necessary, our Park Steward will train you at the beginning of your shift on the tasks of the day.
Summer Science Camp Assistants
Teens ages 13 to 17 are invited to be assistants at camps for 5 – 10 year olds. Week-long camps are held between June and August. Camp assistants help the teachers and help individual campers with crafts, projects, games, etc. Assistants MUST attend a mandatory training offered in May.

Mandatory training sessions are provided for all Summer Teen Volunteers.