Water Volunteering Opportunities in Minnesota

Sometimes making the changes to conserve water in our everyday lives simply is not enough. Sometimes we want to make a bigger impact to help protect our natural waters.


Get involved by volunteering with these organizations in Minnesota which focus on water conservation.

Wetland Health Evaluation Program (WHEP)

A lot of volunteer opportunities to protect water involve collecting samples so that scientists can study and monitor changes. The wetland areas of Minnesota have a volunteer program called WHEP that does just that. Volunteers attend a training workshop and are given clear direction on what to do. A commit of just 20-40 hours through the whole summer is needed to collect the needed samples.

Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA)

The MPCA accepts volunteers to help monitor the ice in their area throughout the state. The formulation and break-up of ice is an important milestone for a lake each year. Knowing as much information about this as possible helps to understand climate change and human influence on the health of Minnesota’s lakes. The lake ice reporting program is currently seeking more volunteers and could really use you! Click here to join in and help stop climate change.

Friends of the Mississippi River (FMR)

If you are interested in biology, this is the volunteer opportunity for you. FMR seeks volunteers to collect samples of small stream-dwelling bugs to track the health of the rivers that flow into the Mississippi. This is done in the Rice Creek Watershed District and is called the Stream Health Evaluation Program. Signing up means you are committing to spend 35-40 hours volunteering, mostly in the fall. You train with professional scientists to be a part of an important study to keep our streams healthy! Learn more here.


Besides these amazing volunteering opportunities, there are other ways to get involved. Click here to learn even more about how to protect Minnesota’s waters by volunteering in the community.