Volunteers in the Parks: Tensions, Challenges and Opportunities in the National Park Service

“Dr. Thomas Bryer’s work names something generations of stewards have experienced in the field: when people are invited into meaningful relationship with a place, the impact extends far beyond the work at hand. This research honors the role volunteers play not only in sustaining public lands, but in strengthening community, purpose, and civic life. It offers both evidence and direction for those of us committed to caring for these places—and for the people who will carry that responsibility forward.” (Sydney Williams, founder of Hiking My Feelings® + Reciprocity Rx™)

This volume provides an in-depth, qualitative analysis of volunteers and volunteerism in the U.S. National Parks Service (NPS). Over the course of the 50+-year history of the Volunteers-in-Parks (VIP) program, there has been no systematic research undertaken about the history or impact of volunteers serving in parks. This book corrects this deficiency, filling a large gap in the scholarly literature and advancing theory on volunteerism within a critical space in the nation’s environmental, historical, and cultural infrastructure.

Using a combination of participant observation and interviews with more than 200 volunteers and park staff, the volume introduces new insights on the value and management of volunteers in support of broader societal goals while also delving deeply into the tensions that emerge when public institutions are reliant but cannot afford to be dependent on volunteers.

The book will be of use to scholars and students studying public administration, nonprofit management, and environmental conservation or cultural preservation as well as practitioners of volunteer management and community engagement across the spaces of public parks, museums, and other places of environmental, historical, or cultural significance.