ONDA engages with many volunteers throughout the year who play an integral part in our outreach and events. We appreciate volunteers who assist in the office, tabling or at events such as the ones listed below. To join our list of office and event volunteers in either Bend or Portland, please fill out the volunteer interest form below, or email our team to learn more.

Office Volunteering

• Portland Office Crew: Join us in our Portland office (2009 NE Alberta St) on Thursdays between 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. for a shift of one to three hours. You’ll assist with hand-writing notes, addressing and stuffing envelopes, phone calls to ONDA members, data entry, and other administrative tasks.
• Bend Office Crew: Join us in our Bend Office (50 SW Bond St Ste 4) on Wednesdays between 12 p.m. – 3 p.m. or Thursdays between 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. for a shift. You’ll assist with mailings, data entry, projects to support our stewardship work, and other administrative tasks.
• Calendar Assembly Party: Wednesday, September 24 from 2–5 p.m. (Bend Office 50 SW Bond St, Ste 4)
  Enjoy food, drinks, community and a sneak peek of the amazing images featured in this year’s Wild Desert Calendar. Together, we’ll count, sort and add inserts to the calendars that will be shipped and sold by retail vendors across the state. This is a flexible opportunity—drop in to the Bend Office for an hour or stay for the duration. No experience necessary.
• Wild Desert Calendar Mailing Team: Spend a few hours with us in our Bend Office (Bend Office 50 SW Bond St, Ste 4) each week mailing calendars. Commit weekly from October through December or sign up for just a few shifts this fall. Flexible scheduling is available Tuesday through Thursday, and no computer experience is necessary.

Events

• Public Lands Day at REI Co-op: Saturday, September 27 from 9–1 p.m. or 1–4 p.m. Join us for a fun and meaningful day at REI’s Public Lands Day celebration, where we’ll be connecting the community with ONDA’s important work. As a volunteer, you’ll greet the public, share information, and encourage sign-ups to support desert conservation.
• Oregon’s Desert in Print:  Friday, October 17 from 4:30–7:30 p.m. Celebrate the stunning beauty of Oregon’s high desert at our event showcasing an exclusive collection of compelling landscape and wildlife photography. As a volunteer, you’ll connect community members to ways to get involved in high desert conservation, assist with calendar sales, and lend a hand with event set up and clean up.
• Portland High Desert Hootenanny: Thursday, November 13 from 4:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. We are seeking volunteer photographers or videographers and 1-2 volunteers with an OLCC certification who can bartend.
• Bend High Desert Hootenanny: Friday, December 5 from  1–4 p.m. or 4:15–7:30 p.m. Join ONDA, friends and supporters in celebrating Oregon’s high desert and the conservation successes you’ve achieved this year. Volunteers will have the option to choose between an afternoon or an evening shift. The afternoon shift includes event set up and decorating, while the evening shift involves greeting and sharing information with guests, assisting with advocacy and games, oversight of the food and beverage table, and cleanup.

Apply below to volunteer with us!

Another critical way you can volunteer in support of your public lands is to become an advocate and your use voice to urge key decision makers to prioritize desert conservation.

You can get on ONDA’s action alert list by subscribing to ONDA’s e-newsletter.

Have a story you want to share? We’d love to hear it!

ONDA’s staff-and-volunteer-run blog features a range of passionate storytellers sharing high desert knowledge and offering new insights. Here, we give Oregon’s desert a deserving voice—and we’re at our best when we showcase a rich array of people, experiences and motivations for supporting conservation.

Because outdoor and environmental writing has historically had a narrow focus, we encourage women, BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and other diverse voices to reach out to discuss options for sharing a volunteer piece.

Submissions can take many forms including audio recordings, photo diaries, poetry, narratives, interviews, articles and more. Your creative ideas are welcome, and no experience is necessary.

To get involved, please contact us at onda@onda.org with the subject line “Volunteer Contributor.”

In the spring and fall, we engage volunteers in meaningful restoration, stewardship and monitoring projects in the most important habitats across Oregon’s high desert. Registration is now open for spring 2025 trips. Learn more and sign up on our stewardship trips page.

We encourage people of all ability levels and backgrounds to get out with us to take part in our hands-on stewardship trips and deepen their relationship with Oregon’s high desert. All trips are free and no experience is required. ONDA provides all of the tools, equipment and training necessary for the projects.

ONDA also partners with school groups, community organizations, and businesses that want to volunteer together.