Volunteer with Friends of Shelby
Volunteers breathe life into our mission to preserve, protect, and enhance Shelby Park and Bottoms. Volunteers are at the heart of Friends of Shelby: planting trees, picking up trash, maintaining trails, assisting with special events, and helping with various larger projects.
Check out all the ways to get involved, and sign up today to receive updates on volunteer opportunities.
All ongoing volunteer projects are family friendly, so long as volunteers under the age of 18 are accompanied by a legal guardian. Dogs are allowed at trash pickup events so long as they are friendly with other dogs and kept on a 6 foot leash at all times.
Keep scrolling to sign up for upcoming events!
Upcoming Volunteer
EVENTS
Cornelia Airpark Concert
SAT July 25th
The next Cornelia Airpark Concert of the summer is right around the corner and is bound to be a great evening. Our volunteers help us make them happen — from taking tickets to checking IDs to serving drinks, we couldn’t put them on without you! Click the link below to sign up for a shift, volunteers get a free t-shirt and those over 21 get a free beer!
ongoing Volunteer
PROJECT
Trash Pick Up
TUE July 28th (9-11 AM)
TUE Aug 11th (9-11 AM)
Who doesn’t love a clean space to relax and enjoy nature? Come out to help keep Shelby Park tidy and inviting by picking up trash and discarded items around the area. The Cumberland River which runs alongside our park is the main water source in Nashville, so this effort supports to clear debris making this safer for us and our wildlife friends.
Click here to volunteer
Landscaping at Lillian St. Entrance
FRI July 31st (9-11 AM)
The landscaping at our Lillian St. Entrance is in need of a little helping hand! The landscaping bed and plants need just a bit help tidying up their home (who can relate?) — Join us on a lovely summer morning to support making the Park a welcoming space!
Click here to volunteer!
Invasive Plant Removal - Meadow Clearing with SGI at Cornelia Fort Airpark
TUE Aug 4th (5:30-7:30 PM)
Join Friends of Shelby and the Southeastern Grasslands Institute (SGI) to help our beloved meadow at Cornelia Fort Airpark! We’ll be continuing the work to prepare the Cornelia Fort Airpark’s north fields for their upcoming grassland restoration by clearing large invasive plants. Ecologists from SGI will be present to answer questions, and we will be providing all the necessary tools. Come on out for a fun, evening removal event!
Click here to volunteer!
Nature Center Garden Help
THU Aug 20th (9:30-11 AM)
Join us at the Shelby Bottoms Nature Center for a morning of community gardening! We will be working in the Pollinator Garden to pull weeds, remove unwanted plants, and mulch as needed. This will help to allow the flowering plants which attract all kinds of native wildlife to thrive and allow our community to enjoy them to their fullest!
Click here to volunteer!
SHELBY PARK AMBASSADORS
Do you love Shelby Park and Bottoms? Would you like to be more involved in park events, the community, and Friends of Shelby? Join our Park Ambassador program! Park Ambassadors help achieve our mission of preserving, enhancing and protecting the park by increasing our community outreach via tabling, events, and open houses. In this reoccurring volunteer program, you will learn all there is to know about the park, FOS, and how-to share this valuable information with the public!
Interested in joining the team? Send an email to linds@friendsofshelby.org!
Community Group Volunteer Program
Friends of Shelby loves to work with groups. Whether it's your ten-person office or your 100-person church, please reach out and see if we have a project that would suit your goals. Friends of Shelby helps coordinate the project and provides tools, gloves, and work project assignments to match the size and capabilities of any volunteer group. Each volunteer day begins with an orientation including the goals of the park improvement effort, tool training, and general safety rules.
If you are interested in a project for your group, please click the button below and fill out our interest form!
Questions? Email our Volunteer Program Manager at linds@friendsofshelby.org.
Thank you to our community partners
We could not do this great work without your help
Funding for the volunteer program provided by the Grateful Daniel Fund of The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee.
