Thank you for your interest in becoming a volunteer for the Terwilliger Nature Guide Program!
Terwilliger Nature Guides lead nature discover walks for school children, and receive specialized training on local plant and wildlife identification and outdoor teaching techniques.

One of the hallmarks of WildCare's Nature Hikes are small group sizes. We meet one classroom of students at the  trail head and then split up into groups of 5 -8 students to explore, discover and learn.

The Nature Guide volunteers specialize at leading hikes at one of three locations.
○ Ring Mountain Open Space Preserve in Corte Madera, CA - take place on Tuesday mornings
○ Muir Woods National Monument in Mill Valley, CA - take place on Wednesday mornings
○ China Camp State Park in San Rafael, CA - take place on Thursday mornings

𝐑𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬:
○ Must attend all 5 of the training sessions (dates are listed below in section 2 of the application)
○ Must be able to commit to lead Nature Hikes three times per month on weekday mornings for one year while schools are in session (November of 2024 - October 2025).  Hikes are scheduled in advance and no hikes are scheduled during summer months.
○ Must be amenable to regular email communication
○ Must be 18 or older

Please note that this will likely be a competitive process; we anticipate receiving many applications. A good match for our program is more important to us than prior experience. *Completing this questionnaire is not a guarantee of acceptance as a Terwilliger Nature Guide Volunteer.*

If your application is a good match, you will be invited to an in-person Orientation at WildCare on a Saturday morning in mid-September.  The final selection of candidates will take place after Orientation. Training will be held from late September through October and Nature Guide trainees will begin leading hikes in November of 2024. There are a total of five required training sessions in September and October and 3 required observations of Nature Hikes in October.

For those selected, there is a $50 materials fee that offsets the cost of the training sessions, live scan background check, training manual, teaching vest, and teaching tools for the trail. Scholarships are available, so please don't let the fee discourage you from applying.

 Please answer the following questions to the best of your ability.