Kinney Program

The Wolf River Conservancy is one of Memphis’ oldest non-profit organizations and has been working for over thirty years to protect on of Memphis’ most important natural resources, the Wolf River. The WRC works with many goals in mind such as raising money to fund the completion of the Wolf River Greenway system, to protect the Shelby county section of the Wolf (often referred to as the Urban Wolf), and to encourage people to explore the wildness of the Ghost River, a section of the Wolf located in Fayette County. Rhodes volunteers assist the WRC on a regular basis with special events as well as regular activities such as river clean-ups.

Although many Memphians don’t know it, Shelby Farms is the nation’s largest urban park and an amazing resource for all Memphis residents. Volunteers at Shelby Farms are often invloved in trail builds, park clean-ups, or small construction projects. Many also participate in a number of annual events which the park puts on such as Earth Day and the Starry Lights exhibit.  There is certainly never a shortage of things to do at the Farms.

On most every weekend during the early fall and late spring, Rhodes volunteers can be found in one of the many community gardens around the Midtown area. Volunteers assist with harvesting vegetables as well as regular garden maintenance and construction projects. Most outtings occur on Saturday mornings and students are back on campus before lunch.

The Memphis Zoo is not only a place for families to go see wildlife from all over the world, it is also Memphis’ largest worldwide conservation organization. The Memphis Zoo helps to fund research projects all over the world as well as advocate the protection of animals and their habitats. You can read about these projects by visiting their website. Rhodes College is currently making great efforts to establish a better relationship between the college and the zoo in order to provide students with interesting and fulfilling volunteer opportunities.