About Nature Groupie
For Volunteers:
We make it easy to volunteer for nature. Over 200 conservation organizations in New England post their volunteer experiences on our calendar.
- Sign up to join the Nature Groupie community and get our free weekly email with volunteer experiences near you
- Connect with Nature Groupie on Facebook and Instagram
- Use #naturegroupie when you volunteer for nature!
For Partners:
- Recruit volunteers for nature-based projects through Nature Groupie Experiences (events calendar)
- Access free Stewardship Training Guides to train your volunteers
- Get help navigating the world of stewardship, citizen science, and volunteers through a (free) subscription to The Compass
- Borrow stewardship tools through our Stewardship Tool Libraries
- Access stewardship and citizen science resources through Nature Groupie Resources
- Connect to UNH Cooperative Extension experts for technical assistance and advice on stewardship, citizen science, and working with volunteers.
Our History
Nature Groupie started as a collaborative project between the University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension and The Stewardship Network (TSN) in the Great Lakes. Launched as “The Stewardship Network: New England” in 2013, we successfully partnered with TSN to adapt their model of collaborative stewardship, volunteer networking, and enhanced technology to the unique needs of New England partners and volunteers.
During our startup phase, UNH Extension raised over $680,000 in grant support for the project from University of New Hampshire, the US Forest Service, the National Fish & Wildlife Service, the National Science Foundation, the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, Northeast Utilities Service Company, National Park Service NE Region Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance Program.
In 2016, we researched how and why our conservation partners valued the network, sharing what we learned in What Our Partners Say.
In 2017, we launched The Compass, a free quarterly e-newsletter providing in-depth content navigating the world of stewardship, citizen science, and volunteers.
In 2018, after four years of learning from partners and volunteers about their experiences, we changed our name to Nature Groupie to capture the energy, connection, and spirit of volunteering for nature of our New England network.