Volunteer at the wild america nature festival!

​The Wild America Nature Festival needs YOUR help to be a success! Without our volunteers, this event could not happen.

Volunteer Packages: In return for one five-hour shift of your time volunteering to help make the Wild America Nature Festival a success, you will receive: one Weekend Pass to the 2019 Wild America Nature Festival; one Wild America Nature Festival t-shirt; and one pass to RTPI. Volunteers who work two or more shifts during the course of the festival will receive a bonus of one Peterson Field Guide (your choice of Forests, Insects, Amphibians, or Freshwater Fish as available) OR a Roger Tory Peterson print (Cardinals, Barn Owls, or Great Horned Owl as available), a Panama Rocks Season Pass (valid through 2020), and your RTPI pass will be upgraded to an RTPI Annual Pass!
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Jobs for Volunteers: We need volunteers for various activities (about 50/day during the festival and about 4-6 to help with setup). Descriptions of each job are below. Volunteers can overlap in more than one category:

• Festival Ground Prep and Set Up (4-6 volunteers): Help out before the festival preparing the grounds, including refurbishing entry booths, outlining vendor booth areas, marking parking area, putting up signs, etc. 
• Admissions Booth (14 volunteers/day): Ticket sales at the festival gate and provide information to new guests.
• Merchandise Sales (6 volunteers/day): We will have some t-shirts, water bottles, and other items for sale. Help us sell them!
• Parking (12 volunteers/day): Help guests navigate our parking field and park their cars.
• Participant Liaison (8 volunteers/day): Help watch vendor/information booths for artists/farmers/participants who need a quick break, assist festival speakers setting up their presentations, and assist where needed.
• Recycling/Clean-Up (4 volunteers/day): This is a nature festival. There will be some garbage but we will be encouraging guests to recycle, compost, and keep our grounds clean. Help us keep the Wild America Nature Festival and Panama Rocks green and pristine! This job entails removing/replacing trash and recycling cans as needed and helping clean the bathrooms before and after the festival.
• Guest Services (6 volunteer shifts/day): We need a small number of people who can answer the phone, conduct guest surveys, and answer questions.

Shifts: For most scheduled jobs during the festival there are two volunteer shifts per day: from 9:00am to 2:00pm and 1:00pm to 6:00pm. Exceptions to this are Pre-Festival Ground Prep and Set Up. The earlier you apply, the more flexibility we will have in assigning you preferred shifts and duties. Volunteers may be asked to perform other duties as needed in emergencies. 

Requirements: Volunteers must be at least 18 years old OR have parent/guardian approval to volunteer. You will be required to sign a volunteer waiver before your first shift begins. Submitting this form is considered a commitment to volunteer. We will be planning shift schedules based on what volunteers commit to do and rely on volunteers to fulfill their commitment. No-call-no-shows will NOT be asked to volunteer for future events.

How to Apply: In order to apply to volunteer, please fill out and submit the following form. After you submit this form you should receive an email "Accepted for the Wild America Crew" within seven days. A second email with your crew assignments will be sent later. If you haven't heard from us within 10 days please call or email to check your status - don't forget to check your junk mail for our emails!
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