Volunteer Opportunities
Bear River Ranch offers multiple opportunities for people to volunteer around camp. The majority of the time, volunteers assist in our animal area. Our animal care volunteers work side by side with our animal team to provide care, enrichment, and socialization to over 100 species of domestic, exotic, and wild animals. This is an entry-level position and requires no prior experience.
Due to our summer camp program, volunteers are only allowed to come out during our off-season (from mid-August to mid-May). We encourage volunteers to come out on their availability; we can be quite flexible where needed. Our facility is open from 8am to 5pm every day of the week. Volunteers can come in any weather and may work indoors or outdoors on any given day.
Minimum Requirements
- Be available during our work hours (8am-5pm). Unfortunately, we cannot accommodate times outside of our work hours.
- Volunteers who are 15 or younger must be accompanied by a parent volunteer. Independent volunteers must be 16 years or over. Volunteers under the age of 18 must have a parent or guardian to provide proof of medical insurance and be willing to sign a liability waiver on behalf of themselves and/or the volunteer.
- Each volunteer should be able and willing to follow directions. We want this to be an enriching experience for you and the animals. In order to do this, all volunteers should follow the instructions of the animal team.
Many of the jobs given will be physically demanding and will get you dirty, so volunteers must dress appropriately and be prepared to work! Any person in the animal area must wear closed-toed shoes and shirts that cover your shoulders for safety purposes. It is recommended you bring a water bottle and to check the weather and come prepared.
Generally, volunteers come in two forms:
- One Time Volunteers
-- Group Size: 1-50+ people
-- Best Times to Come: Weekend afternoons (1pm-5pm)
-- Best for: Groups that need to fulfill required hours or just want to fill an afternoon.
-- Likely Jobs: Clearing trails, raking pastures, moving branches, socializing aniamls, and other general cleaning. - Recurring Volunteers
-- Group Size: 1-3 people
-- Best Times to Come: Whenever you are available! Feeding and general animal care occur from 8am-12pm while cleaning projects and enrichment tend to occur 1pm-5pm, so you can pick where your interests lie.
-- Best for: College students looking for experience, People who want to spend more time with animals, or Children who need an afterschool/weekend activity.
-- Likely Jobs: Feeding/watering animals, cleaning enclosures, washing dishes, wiping down windows/walls, sweeping/mopping, making enrichment, socializing animals, food preparation, and more!
**To help volunteers get comfortable with their responsibilities and the animals they are working with, all recurring volunteers are asked to visit the facility first.
Fill out the volunteer form below so we can get you started on coming out here. The animals are excited to have you!
