Become a citizen scientist and join the Weed Watchers team! The Weed Watcher program is a volunteer-based invasive plant early detection program. Weed Watchers go on weed scouting hikes in spectacular locations throughout the Golden Gate National Parks to identify weeds as they first invade. Discovering weeds before they become well-established is critical to reducing damage to ecosystem integrity, preventing the loss of habitat for rare plants and animals, and preventing costly natural resource management.

Join staff and other volunteers to identify the priority weeds of the park, use digital cameras and GPS units to record sightings, and go on excursions to look for weeds. The hikes vary in length and difficulty, but last approximately 3 hours. The focus of the walks are identification, not weed removal, so the outings are perfect for anyone who wants to learn more about the plants of the park.

Registration required. This is not a drop-in program. Volunteers need to attend a training session before going on hikes. To register for this training, contact Jenn_Jordan@nps.gov.

For more details about this program, click here.

View our Weekly Volunteer Schedule or Volunteer Brochure for a schedule and overview of our programs.

The Golden Gate National Parks Volunteer Program is a cooperative parkwide effort of the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, the National Park Service, and the Presidio Trust.