Interested in volunteering?

We have lots of great options, including field work and tasks you can do from home.

Types of work

If you want to make a difference by getting outside and getting active, come help remove barbed wire fencing as a Desert Fence Buster, re-establish habitat on our wildlife crossings with our Desert Wildlife Crossing Crew, or join a Desert Monitor team to check wildlife cameras. We also have regular highway clean up events and our Desert Roadies run seasonal roadkill surveys.

From home, you can help as a Desert Identifier by sorting wildlife camera photos (this opportunity is currently FULL), or support our policy work as a Desert Advocate.

The list goes on! Outside of our formal volunteer programs, we also love your help with our outreach, fundraising, photography, and envelope stuffing (join one of our mailing parties!).

Desert Roadies	Roadkill surveys provide valuable information that helps us determine where wildlife crossings and funnel fencing are most useful. Roadkill surveys are done in small teams by car, and data is collected using a smartphone—join our new survey starting in Spring 2025!	FULL Still interested? Learn how to add any roadkill sightings to our data from your phone.
Desert Advocates	We always need members of the public to back us up on important issues in public meetings, protests, and similar public fora. Watch out for our action alerts!	RECRUITING! Sign up for our emails to receive action alerts
Board members	As a 501(c)(3) non-profit, we are governed by a voluntary board of directors. Interested in helping to steer a regional non-profit? Get in touch and we can discuss the skills required.	RECRUITING! Email admin@sonorandesert.org if interested
Desert Fence Busters	The Desert Fence Busters has been removing redundant and harmful barbed wire fence since 2021. They host seasonal events, and there are roles varying in physical difficulty from light to very challenging.	Check our Events calendar
Desert Monitors	Desert Monitors check assigned wildlife cameras once per month. Physical hiking ability is a requirement for this activity, and getting to a camera site often requires navigating over rough terrain, in desert habitat, hiking anywhere between 1 to 8 miles round-trip. We provide everything you need, and teach you how to use the cameras as well as basic field safety. This work breaks during the hot summer months.	FULL; email volunteer@sonorandesert.org if interested so that we can update you on openings!
Wildlife Crossing Crew	This work takes place at our crossings on Oracle Road, and can include invasive species removal, planting and caring for re-established native habitat, highway clean-ups (10 years of adopt-a-highway and counting!), erosion control and more.	Check our Events calendar
Desert Identifiers	Identifiers are assigned a photo packet and help CSDP identify the species captured by our cameras. This work is done from home and using a volunteer’s own equipment.	FULL
Mailing parties	We host mailing parties in the spring and fall, and depending on need. We meet at the Historic Y near downtown Tucson and fold, stuff, address, and stamp envelopes, typically for our fundraising campaigns. There is always fun music and snacks!	Check our Events calendar
Share your photos	We lean on the beauty of our landscape to help inspire action. If you have photos you are happy for us to use in our work, we would be so grateful!	Share your photos
Share your skills	Our generous volunteers have donated their GIS expertise, art, tour guide skills, grant or other writing skills and much more over the years. Contact us if you’d like to help in a way that we haven’t mentioned above.	Email volunteer@sonorandesert.org if interested!

Who can volunteer

CSDP is committed to a culture that values differences and fosters inclusion, and we have opportunities for all abilities.

Volunteers under the age of 18 are encouraged to participate in our activities unless otherwise noted. All minor volunteers must have a Release and Indemnity waiver form signed by their parent or legal guardian and must be accompanied and directly supervised by an authorized representative (parent, teacher, guardian, or chaperone).

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Try our Volunteer App!

You can sign up, connect with team mates, and clock your hours from your smartphone or tablet using the FREE Bloomerang Volunteer app available on Android’s Google Play and the iOS App Store. For training videos on how to use the app and volunteer portal visit our Volunteer Resources page or click here. And we are always happy to help! Using the app is completely optional.

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Volunteer Resources

Thank you for all your time and effort volunteering for the Coalition!

Using the Volunteer Portal	Log into the Volunteer Portal Here (works best with the Chrome browser), OR Download the free App for Android on Google Play and the iOS App Store Training videos on how to use CSDP’s Volunteer Portal and App
Desert Monitors	How to transfer your wildlife camera photos via WeTransfer Link to WeTransfer Bushnell camera field checklist
Desert Identifiers	How to Identify Wildlife Camera Photos Remotely (for Windows PC) Guide to Identifying Difficult to Distinguish Mammals Using Wildlife Camera Photos Wildlife Camera Gallery
Desert Roadies	Overview and basic instructions on being a Desert Roadie
Desert Fence Busters	Desert Fence Busters Volunteer Orientation

WILDLIFE CAMERAS — recommendations for personal use

We recommend checking out the reviews and the beginner’s buyers guide found at www.trailcampro.com. With new models coming on the market all the time, this is a great resource for up to date recommendations and tips. You get what you pay for, so we don’t recommend anything worth less than $100. To minimize animal disturbance, choose an infrared/IR camera over white flash.

More information can also be found at CSDP Conservation Science Director Jessica Moreno’s article in the Desert Leaf, “Wildlife (caught) on camera” which gives more details on wildlife cameras, the different ways they are used, some rules and regulations to think about depending on where you’re placing them, and what to think about when buying one.  Lastly, this article from the NYTimes in March 2021 has a lot of practical tips about what to think about when purchasing a wildlife camera.