Nicole McLeod, program analyst for the San Antonio Parks and Recreation Volunteer Services Division, said the parks department’s volunteer programs are designed to offer a wide range of activities suited to all ages and abilities.

“Our goal is to offer a variety of projects that appeal to different ages, backgrounds and areas of town,” McLeod said. “So whether it’s garden days, litter pickups or cemetery stewardship, people can find a way to get involved that fits their interests and schedule.”

The framework

Staffed by McLeod and Andre Dyer, the Volunteer Services Division coordinates a mix of ongoing programs, stand-alone projects and partner-led events. This includes gardening at various parks, litter pickups, cemetery stewardship programs and stand-alone events such as Earth Day San Antonio, Monarch Festival, Arbor Day for SA and National Night Out.

McLeod said residents can look up volunteer opportunities using the city’s volunteer portal.


“We post new opportunities at least once or twice a week, so there’s always something available,” McLeod said.

The volunteer program also partners and co-hosts events with a variety of organizations, including the San Antonio River Foundation, San Antonio River Authority, Rotary Club, the San Antonio Parks Foundation and the Great Springs Project. These events are a way for smaller organizations to help beautify and enrich local parks even if they have smaller budgets, McLeod said.

“We work with a wide range of partners to meet the needs of our parks,” McLeod said. “They’ll identify issues like litter or watershed concerns, and we help by organizing and promoting volunteer days through our portal. Sometimes we can be on-site, and other times we support them with tools like grabbers, gloves and bags so they can run cleanups and activities on their own.”

Volunteer opportunities include:
  • Trail Watch
  • Litter cleanup
  • Waterway and creek cleanups
  • Cemetery Stewardship
  • Special event days, such as Arbor Day SA


The local impact

Two programs that see the most volunteers are the Trail Watch program and the Cemetery Stewardship program.

In the Trail Watch program, volunteers act as the eyes and ears of the department along the roughly 100-mile greenway trail system that links parks and trail networks across the city. This program is an independent, self-directed activity, where volunteers act as ambassadors and report issues they find to 311.

“They’re out walking or riding, helping people who might be lost, pointing them to the nearest restrooms and reporting things like fallen trees or graffiti. The idea is that the more people we have out on the trails, the more activation we have and the safer our trails are,” McLeod said.
Trail Watch volunteers serve as ambassadors along the city's 100-mile greenway trail network. (Courtesy San Antonio Parks and Recreation Department)
Trail Watch volunteers serve as the parks department's eyes and ears along the city's 100-mile greenway trail network. (Courtesy San Antonio Parks and Recreation Department)
The Cemetery Stewardship Program is a partnership with Historic Preservation and seeks to preserve and beautify the city’s east side cemeteries. There are about 500 volunteers signed up for the program, with roughly 30-40 attending events every second Saturday of the month. This is a hands-on program where volunteers document and clean grave markers in the city cemeteries.


“In one of our cemeteries, we’ve almost completely cleaned all of the markers—you can really see the difference,” McLeod said.
A volunteer cleaning grave markers as part of the the Cemetery Stewardship Program. (Courtesy San Antonio Parks and Recreation Department)
A volunteer cleaning grave markers as part of the the Cemetery Stewardship Program. (Courtesy San Antonio Parks and Recreation Department)
Learn more

Approximately 9,751 volunteers participated in volunteer opportunities in fiscal year 2024-25. Many were one-time volunteers, with retired and semi-retired people making up the majority of repeat volunteers.

Interested residents can sign up for email lists about volunteer opportunities, check out upcoming events on the department’s Galaxy Digital portal or email [email protected] to set up custom volunteer projects.