Thank you for your interest! As a small non-profit, volunteers are the backbone of our organization. We provide training for all our volunteers; no experience is necessary- just a passion and desire to learn. Create an account in our database and select which volunteer opportunities you’d like to participate in. Once your application has been approved, we’ll let you know and then you’ll be able to record your volunteer time. If you have already created a volunteer profile in NeonCRM and you haven’t heard from us within a week, please contact us directly so that we can connect with you.

Click here for directions on how to record your volunteer hours.

You’ll also need to complete a volunteer information and waiver form in addition to a background check consent form. These forms along with a background check must be completed prior to participating in any volunteer activities.

Environmental Education

Classic Beach Camp Volunteer: Volunteers are crucial to helping our Classic Beach Camps run smoothly. Help ensure everyone’s safety, connect kids with nature, enjoy time on the beach, and learn about the estuary and marine ecosystems. Camp volunteers assist campers with the day’s activities, which can include crafts, games, free time on the beach, using microscopes, birdwatching with binoculars, and scientific data collection such as measuring shore crabs.

Education Activity Prep: This opportunity has a very flexible schedule! Help the Education Director complete tasks such as organizing craft supplies, researching games and activities, printing and cutting out craft pieces, organizing science materials, and cleaning science equipment at the NRNC. Late spring is the time when a lot of prep work needs to be done, but the days and times are completely up to you.

Field Trips at NRNC: Are you interested in gaining experience teaching? During the school year, students from various schools come to the Center for 1-4 hour field trip programs. Under the direction of the Education Director, volunteers help lead activities that engage students in learning about marine life in Puget Sound. You can have a powerful impact on these students’ learning experiences. Help students complete activities such as counting fish and measuring shore crabs. Carry equipment to and from the beach and assist with group management.

Eye On Nature: Eye On Nature is a field trip program that includes nature walks focused on ethnobotany and nature mapping at the Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge. Staff and volunteers each lead a small group of 3rd-12th graders on a guided nature walk and provide an immersive experience in scientific observation. Eye On Nature programs occur on certain weekdays in the Spring. See our Eye on Nature page for more information.

Exhibits: This volunteer opportunity involves maintaining and improving non-aquarium exhibits within the NRNC visitor center. This could include organizing biofacts, developing signage, writing labels and descriptions, cleaning exhibit materials such as posters and signs, or other tasks. Dates and times are flexible.

Public Outreach: Help NRNC staff engage with the public while tabling at public outreach events. Assist with setting up and taking down tables. Chat with the public about NRNC’s mission and programs. Usually involves 1-2 hours of prep and cleanup and 2-8 hours of tabling. You can help out with one shift (2-3 hours depending on the event duration) or you can help out with the entire event.

For questions about these opportunities, please email us at anna@nisquallyestuary.org or call us at 360-459-0387

Scientific Research

Pigeon Guillemot Surveys: Conduct behavioral research on the local populations of these seabirds so we can help government scientists keep an eye on the health of Puget Sound. These birds are considered an indicator species and our data is being used to help estimate population abundance. Once a week from June through August, volunteers go to various beaches in the early morning (generally on the beach by 7:30) to conduct an hour-long survey of pigeon guillemots and their nesting behavior. We survey from the beach and by boat. Each season we monitor more than 15 colonies in South Puget Sound from Ketron Island to Totten Inlet and waters in between.

For questions about this program, please email us at pigu@nisquallyestuary.org or call us at 360-459-0387

Forage Fish: Forage fish are small fish that are an important source of food for animals such as salmon, seals, and birds. They spawn in very shallow water on gravelly/sandy beaches at high tide. Join us at the beach and in the lab as we hunt for elusive surf smelt and sand lance eggs. It’s like a treasure hunt! We might find eggs or we might not. And even if we don’t that’s still valuable information. We conduct surveys each month in the fall and winter (Sept-Mar). The beach access at DuPont is a bit rugged, so footwear with good ankle support and being at least somewhat in shape makes for a more enjoyable experience. It’s a one-mile round trip hike with 164 ft elevation change the last tenth of a mile going down a steep, unstable slope and then back up with 10-60 lbs of samples. Then we spend 1-2 days processing samples by sieving and vortexing to reduce the sample to a much smaller size to prepare them for lab analysis. This activity is VERY wet; it involves hosing samples. Depending on the weather and personal preference, you could be in shorts and sandals or you could be covered head to toe in raingear and rubber boots. In the lab, we pick out any eggs from the sand and preserve them to identify species and determine age later. Shifts for processing and lab start at 3 hours with the option to go longer depending on staff and volunteer availability. Monitoring forage fish spawning within the Nisqually Reach Aquatic Reserve is one of the ways in which we can gain a better understanding of the ecosystem and its health.

For questions about this program, please email us at foragefish@nisquallyestuary.org or call us at 360-459-0387

Juvenile Crab Light Trap: Help us monitor local crab populations by conducting weekly surveys spring-early fall out at Zittel’s Marina. We usually spend at least 1-2 hours (more when there’s an abundant catch of crabs, worms, or fish) in the morning sorting through all the critters that end up in the trap overnight. We identify the different species of crabs, count them, and record data. The season starts in April and goes until August.

DNR ANeMoNe: Help us collaborate with DNR to study ocean acidification. DNR has two sensor arrays deployed in Medicine Creek just upstream of our facility.  Assist with water quality sensor maintenance twice a month in addition to monitoring eelgrass and baby oysters. The season starts in April and goes until August.

For questions about this program, please contact Enrico, our Volunteer Science Coordinator, at enrico@nisquallyestuary.org or call us at 360-459-0387.

Aquatic Reserve Community Stewardship Committee (CSC): Attend bimonthly meetings (2nd Monday) to discuss issues affecting the aquatic reserve, learn about upcoming events, and what the nature center and its partners are up to. Help track relevant regulatory issues. CANCELLED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE

Internships:  NRNC has internship opportunities for our research programs. Internships can be full-time or part-time; 20-40 hours/week).  Spring internships are focused primarily on planning and prep for the summer field season in addition to some field work for larval crab surveys and ocean acidification monitoring.  Summer is our busiest season and is focused primarily on pigeon guillemot surveys (field surveys 10-25%, volunteer coordination 50-80%, data management 10-25%), larval crab surveys (mostly weekend mornings plus some weekdays), and ocean acidification monitoring.  Fall switches focus to the start of the forage fish survey (field surveys 10-25%, sample processing 10-15%, lab analysis 25-30%, volunteer coordination 15-25%) season and a smaller component with the pigeon guillemot program (data QC, data analysis, report writing).  Winter is similar to fall but involves early planning for the pigeon guillemot program. We encourage folks to branch out and dabble in other areas such as environmental education, communications, and more.  Our interns work side-by-side with our Science Director to manage and run programs.

For questions about internships, please email us at nrnc@nisquallyestuary.org or call us at 360-459-0387.

NRNC Facility

Aquariums: Help care for the animals in the NRNC aquariums. This can include cleaning the tanks, preparing food, feeding the animals, organizing supplies, and maintaining the life support system.

Visitor Center: Welcome visitors to NRNC during open hours (Saturday and Sunday 12-4 pm). Greet visitors, chat about the local environment, and answer questions about boating, wildlife, tidal changes, aquarium animals, and NRNC programs.

Building Maintenance: Help with projects related to maintaining the building and grounds. Task may include cleaning, painting, window washing, repair work, plumbing, electrical, and more.

For questions about these opportunities, please email us at nrnc@nisquallyestuary.org or call us at 360-459-0387

Communications

Newsletters: Do you enjoy writing articles and sharing stories from NRNC? Our newsletters are published regularly and cover varying topics surrounding NRNC, the Nisqually Reach Aquatic Reserve, and environmental issues that impact Puget Sound.

Outreach Materials: Do you have an eye for graphic design? Help us create digital and print outreach materials to spread information about NRNC’s work. Create brochures, pamphlets, videos, and more.

Website and Social Media: Help NRNC manage and update our Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok accounts. Engage our viewers with related news and share upcoming events. Join the Communication Committee to tell NRNC’s unique story and showcase the diversity of those who are impacted by our work.

For questions about these opportunities, please email us at nrnc@nisquallyestuary.org or call us at 360-459-0387

Admin

Fundraising and Fundraising Events: Help raise funds for NRNC. Includes fundraising activities such as ticket sales, soliciting donations of auction & raffle items, creating email campaigns, sending thank you’s, and putting on fundraising events. Includes planning, staffing, set up, and clean up for fundraising events. We usually do 3-4 fundraisers each year.  Our biggest fundraiser is Feast at the Reach which is held at the nature center in late summer. We have previously done paint & sip, holiday wreaths, and special presentations.

Data Management: Help organize and manage our online database, digital photos, cloud storage, and more.

Grant Writing/Review: Do you have experience writing grants? Your assistance would be valuable to our Grants Committee. Write, edit, and track grant proposals and projects.

Membership: Recruit new NRNC members, foster relationships with current members, and create ways for NRNC to show appreciation to our members.

Special Events: Help NRNC staff plan, set up, and clean up special events. Special events include volunteer celebrations, holiday parties, and any other non-fundraising events.

For questions about these opportunities, please email us at nrnc@nisquallyestuary.org or call us at 360-459-0387

We can tailor volunteer opportunities to your interests, please email us at nrnc@nisquallyestuary.org or call us at 360-459-0387.

For education opportunities, please email us at anna@nisquallyestuary.org or call us at 360-459-0387.

For science opportunities, please contact our volunteer Science Coordinator at enrico@nisquallyestuary.org.

For all other opportunities, please please email us at nrnc@nisquallyestuary.org or call us at 360-459-0387.

Make a difference by helping us connect people with nature!