Volunteer Opportunities

Volunteers are an intergral part in helping Anchorage Parks and Recreation achieve its mission of Healthy Parks, Healthy People.

Every year, our dedicated volunteers beautify Anchorage's parks and trails through picking up trash, building trails, reporting crime, pulling weeds, removing graffiti, planting flowers, and so much more. More importantly, our volunteers build relationships with each other and within the communities they serve.

Curious about how you, your organization, or your community can be involved? Click on the links below to learn more about our individual programs, or contact Parks and Recreation at 343-4355.

Upcoming Volunteer Events

April 13, Scoop the Poop Day at University Lake and Connor's Bog, 11am-3pm

April 27 - May 4, Citywide Cleanup

May 11, Anchorage Waterways Council Creek Cleanup

May 18, Valley of the Moon Volunteer Event

June 1, Chester Creek Trail

June 3 - 12, Volunteen Session 1, Mondays and Wednesdays, 12:30-3:30pm

Programs

Neighborhood Park Fix-Its

Adopt-A-Park

Adopt-A-Garden

Adopt-A-Trail

Graffiti Busters

Trail Watch

Recreation programs - If you have a talent you'd like to share, consider teaching at one of our Recreation Centers. Volunteer to teach a class, help with little swimmers, or share your passion and talent for sports with Anchorage youth. Some volunteer opportunities may require a background check.

How to Report a Problem

Use the guide below to report any issues you see in municipal park land:

Homeless Camp Reporting

Trail light outages: Contact Facility Maintenance at 343-8465

Report graffiti: Graffiti Busters at 343-4663 or facilitymaintenanceworkrequests@ci.anchorage.ak.us

Parks and Recreation Maintenance: 343-4554, parksrecmaintenance@muni.org

Suspicious behavior/non-emergency: 311

Emergency: 911

Eagle Scout Projects

Parks & Recreation has worked with numerous Boy and Eagle Scouts to complete volunteer projects on parkland.

We encourage scouts to visit parks and brainstorm project ideas based on what they observe as needing attention or maintenance. Past projects have included sanding and painting bollards, installing a Mutt Mitt station, repairing benches, and sanding and varnishing flower planters.

Please contact our department to discuss your project idea a year before you intend to complete it. Depending on the size and scope of the project, you may be required to go through the department’s public process to demonstrate community support for your planned improvements.

Boys Scouts of America provides a fillable pdf that scouts can use to organize and plan their project. You can download that pdf here.

If you are looking for additional sources of funding for your project, please check the Anchorage Park Foundation's website to see if Challenge Grants are being accepted. 

Resources

Volunteer Agreement Form

Volunteer Hours Tracking Form

Trail Watch Hours Tracking Form

Adopt-A-Garden Leader Agreement

Adopt-A-Park Leader Agreement

Adopt-A-Trail Leader Agreement

Volunteer Improvement Proposal

Benefits of Volunteering