Inscríbase en el Voluntariado Ambiental en los Parques Nacionales para la primavera y verano de 2025

The environmental volunteering involves a double challenge. On one hand, it facilitates awareness, consciousness, and attitude change towards the environment as a tool for environmental education. On the other hand, it provides a space that meets the growing demand for social participation in knowledge and intervention on the quality and conservation of the environment.

The National Autonomous Parks Agency’s awareness and volunteering plan aims to contribute to environmental awareness by developing projects and activities in the different spaces that make up the national parks network, as well as in the spaces and natural centers attributed to the aforementioned body and in the following lines of action:

1. Monitoring and evaluation of the network.
2. Involvement of social actors and society’s participation.
3. Improvement of scientific knowledge.
4. Complementary activities to achieve the objectives of each national park and the network as a whole, including exceptional situations.

The awareness and volunteering plan of the National Autonomous Parks Agency is developed in two different facets: participation of NGOs as organizers of different activities to be carried out and the role of those who wish to collaborate in environmental volunteering tasks.

Volunteering for environmental awareness and conservation

The Environmental Sciences Association (ACA) launches a new edition of the Volunteering Project in National Parks funded by the National Autonomous Parks Agency (OAPN), within the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge.

The volunteering project aims to establish a network of volunteers supporting activities carried out by national parks to monitor the effects of human activities and climate change. Additionally, the project contributes to raising citizens’ awareness for environmental conservation.

In 2025, there will be seven environmental volunteer campaigns in three mountain national parks between May and October. In spring and summer, there will be five volunteering fields in different national parks: Sierra Nevada National Park, Picos National Park, and Sierra de Guadarrama National Park.

Specifically, the dates for each campaign are:

1. Sierra de Guadarrama National Park: May 28 – June 4,
2. Sierra Nevada National Park: July 18-25 and July 16-23,
3. Picos de Europa National Park: July 3-9.

Registration for all fields visited between May and July is open today on the Environmental Sciences Association’s National Parks website. Each campaign has up to six volunteering spots for anyone interested, regardless of their background.

However, it is important to emphasize that volunteering involves following a program, fulfilling responsibilities, and working as a team by the participants.

Monitoring climate changes

The Environmental Sciences Association (ACA) has been involved in the Volunteering Project in National Parks since 2002, with the participation of over 600 volunteers and 98 volunteering fields, totaling more than 700 days visiting national mountain parks on the peninsula.

The main activity in volunteering at national parks involves sampling physical-chemical, hydromorphological, and biological parameters to determine the quality of rivers and high mountain streams.

Notably, aquatic macroinvertebrate sampling is highlighted, as their abundance and variety help determine the effects of climate change and human activities on the lentic aquatic ecosystems of the National Parks.

The data obtained with the help of volunteers are sent to research centers collaborating with the project to identify the sampled agencies. Through the essential participation of volunteers and research centers, a database is completed with information obtained in various environmental volunteer campaigns.

In addition to the main actions of each environmental volunteering context, the itinerary also includes complementary activities to contribute to the specific knowledge of participants about each national park addressing public use issues, such as traditional land use and research problems, conservation, and biodiversity, such as sampling local species like amphibians or butterflies.