Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers
Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers promotes stewardship of our public lands by engaging our community in education, restoration, and conservation projects. We aim to foster a diverse and engaged community of outdoor stewards working collectively for the benefit of our public lands.
Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers (RFOV) was founded in 1995 by a group of locals who saw the need for a volunteer organization to work in partnership with the public agencies that manage, preserve and protect our public lands. Our goal was to support these land managers, as well as other conservation-minded organizations, by providing a foundation of expertise and resources to complete high-quality, tangible projects. Built on the successful model of the Appalachian Trail Club and Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado, RFOV uses community involvement and a hands-on approach to foster a sense of stewardship for the abundant natural spaces in our area.
Our Work
Sustainable Recreation RFOV wants to ensure that everyone, now and in the future, can have an enriching experience outdoors. That’s the goal of our sustainable recreation programming: to maintain enjoyable trails and beautiful landscapes.
Healthy Landcsapes RFOV believes that healthy landscapes make for healthy people. Together, we can restore degraded rivers, wetlands, lakes, habitats, and ecosystems.
Fire Adaptation Rising temperatures, decreasing moisture, and growth of the wildland-urban interface increases the risk of wildfire damage to our community. RFOV aims to both restore burn areas within our service area and also to mitigate the impacts of future wildfires through targeted fuels reduction projects on public lands.
Get Involved
RFOV has a variety of volunteer opportunities for people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds. Read below for more information and choose the program that is best for you! The physicallity required for every project differs based on the worksite location and specific work tasks. Volunteers will be able to self-select into crews based upon the strenuousness of the work to be completed within each crew. All RFOV community projects are delineated into the following 3 difficulty levels:
- Physically Easy
- Ex: walking under a mile to worksite, seeding, corridor vegetation management, small container planting, etc.
- Physically Moderate
- Ex: walking between 1-2 miles to worksite, trail tread maintenance, barbed-wire removal, large container planting, etc.
- Physically Strenuous
- Ex: walking up to 7 miles to worksite, overnight projects, extensive rock work, working on unstable terrain, etc.
Community Projects We offer Community Projects from April through October. Come meet new friends while making a tangible impact on the ground. Open to everyone, RFOV community projects range from physically easy to strenuous, and many are accessible by public transit. No experience is needed and advance registration is required.
Group Projects Custom stewardship projects are designed to maximize your impact on the outdoors while also building connections among your team. RFOV provides everything you need for the day – leadership, tools, training, education, & logistical support – you supply the volunteers!
Each RFOV Group Project is between 4 to 6 hours and can accommodate 6 to 30 people.
Type of volunteer work and financial commitment depends upon the desired project.
Adopt-A-Trail Want to increase your impact? Commit to adopting a trail or open space by making a larger financial donation or putting in 40-60 hours of volunteer work each year. In recognition of your group’s stewardship service and/or financial donation, we’ll place an “Adopt-A-Trail” sign at the trailhead and organize projects to complete work on your trail.
To schedule a Group or Adopt-A-Trail Volunteer Event, contact cocwoodward@rfov.org.
Youth Programs To empower the next generation of public land stewards, RFOV connects students of every age with the outdoors through hands-on service-learning programs.
Throughout the year, the RFOV offers a variety of youth programs serving students 4-18 years old.
Learn more, [here](https://www.rfov.org/ysp).
Trainings Each year RFOV offers a variety of trainings for volunteers and partner staff alike. These can include but are not limited to crew leader training, trail maintenance, restoration, fire mitigation, leadership on and off the trail, and many more.
Community Service Do you need community service hours? RFOV offers a variety of pathways for your community service hours to be completed. Click here for more information.
Support
Your donation to RFOV supports over 120 volunteer work days a season, our Young Stewards Programs which reaches thousands of youth annually, and all the fun events and outings that celebrate your efforts.
Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization. Donations are tax-deductible and our Tax ID Number is 84-1302819.
Membership Benefits
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Member-exclusive pre-registration in the spring for season events and programs.
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Discounted admission to any of our fee-based programs, including skills training, summer youth programs, adult educational programs, and special events.
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Participation in RFOV's event selection process in the fall, weighing in on your preferred projects and locations for the coming year.
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Recognition in our end-of-year impact report mailed to 1000+ area households and shared more broadly via digital marketing.
Membership Levels $35 | Member Your donation buys work gloves for two volunteers.
$100 | Sustaining Donor Feeds 10 volunteers after a hard day of work.
$250 | Benefactor Sponsor a local youth group project.
$500 | Patron Supply native seeds to restore one acre of burned area.
$1,250 | Outdoor Steward Support maintenance of 1 mile of trail in a year.
$2,500 | Explorer Support the maintenance of 2 miles of trail in a year.
$5,000 | Trail Blazer Help us save for a new van!