Volunteering

We do not have camp dues, and instead ask camp members to volunteer for shifts to help the camp run smoothly. We also encourage camp members to volunteer for the event duties such as gate, greeters, parking, rangers, etc.

To camp with us, you should sign up for at least one camp volunteer shift and one event volunteer shift. The target number of shifts per person depends on the event and the number of people camping with us, so check the event spreadsheet for details. If no volunteer shifts that work for you are available, please check in with camp leadership about alternative ways to contribute to the camp.

These shifts help run the whole of Firefly – not our camp. Firefly participants are expected to contribute to the event by volunteering. If you are new to the event, veteran camp members can give you a good idea of what each shift is like. It's a great idea for first-time burners to sign up for at least one event volunteer shift, since it's an important part of the community and is what makes the events work! Check out Firefly volunteer shifts here.

Most camp duties are done as a team. This means that signing up for volunteer duties together with someone you want to spend time with can be a great way to get some dedicated time together! It can also be a good way to meet new people. Check the event spreadsheet for details on what shifts are available on which days during the event.

Cooking and cleaning for the camp is a great way to contribute to the camp. Check out the food page for more information on these roles. There are two cook slots and two cleaner slots for each full day of an event, and each slot should take 1-2 hours. Dinner is served at 18:00 daily, which coincides with our camp meeting. We also have slots for brunch (one cook and one cleaner), which is a more flexible meal that is not guaranteed to happen every day at a specific time. The Chef for a meal is responsible for planning the recipes/ingredients (which can be purchased by the shopping team). Cleaning teams are responsible for cleaning up the meal prep dishes and work surfaces (not people's individual eating dishes!)

About once a day, someone needs to rotate the dishwater. This means fetching new water from the local stream, discarding the greywater appropriately, and adding bleach to the sanitization bucket. This task only takes about 20 minutes but does require you to carry a water bucket uphill, so camp members with injuries or other mobility issues may want to choose another volunteer role.

Ice comes from the Ice Hole located in upper parking. Before going on an ice run (which is best to do soon after ice is delivered), check the status of the various coolers in camp. Take a cart and bring back enough ice to fill the coolers (usually, two bags per cooler is enough). Do not put ice in the electric coolers.

Compost can now be disposed of on-site at Firefly. The compost pile is next to the Nuthatch barn, below the Upper Parking lot. This makes it convenient to combine compost and ice trips from the campsite. The primary things we compost are coffee grounds (with paper filters), uncooked fruit/vegetable scraps, and eggshells. No cooked food, meat, dairy, oils, plastic, or metal!

Cafe volunteers help to run the coffee and tea bar, an art project run by The Universe for the Firefly public. Volunteers for this position:

• Get trained by a campmate on how to make coffee/tea (if you don’t already know)
• Be at the bar area (at least one person)
• Optionally bring something to do in quiet times (a book, art supplies, a game to play, etc)
• Hang out with your shiftmate!
• Make drinks for people!
• Keep the bar area clean and stocked with supplies
• Make notes about any issues (things we are low on, things that don’t work, ideas for the future) in the Cafe Log

We try to host special events inside the camp from time to time. If you are leading an event, you can put the date/time of it on the spreadsheet so that camp members know about it and can help advertise it to the general public!