General Information

  • Volunteer Opportunities / Responsibilities: Join a dedicated corps of volunteers who are helping ANS to fulfill its mission to preserve our region's natural resources and increase public understanding of natural history. Founded and run by volunteers for many years, ANS continues to partner with volunteers in all of its mission areas. From classroom assistants to trail crews to citizen scientists, ANS offers a diverse range of volunteer opportunities to fit a variety of schedules and interests.

    Advocacy and Communication -- Help get the word out about protecting our region's natural heritage! Our advocacy volunteers campaign for protections for places like the Ten Mile Creek watershed. Volunteers also help communicate ANS's mission and program opportunities by representing us at community events, by updating information kiosks at Woodend, and by helping prepare our regular publications and mailings.

    Citizen Science -- Citizen Science is a great way to learn from and serve ANS at the same time. ANS Water Quality Monitors collect and identify organisms from local streams to help gauge the health of our waterways. Volunteers help track the species of birds using nesting boxes at Woodend Sanctuary.

    Environmental Education -- ANS is involved in environmental education with children from preschool to high school, both at Woodend Sanctuary and at area schools. Get involved as a teaching assistant helping tiny tots discover patterns in nature, helping plant school gardens or getting your feet wet in stream science classes. You just might learn something new too!

    Master Naturalists -- Participate in our Master Naturalist Training program in the Fall to learn from experts in a variety of fields and to become one of the key players on ANS's volunteer team!

    Nature Sanctuary Stewardship -- Volunteer teams are working at Woodend keeping trails safe and accessible, monitoring activity at bird nest boxes, maintaining bird feeding stations, restoring meadow habitat, maintaining a demonstration garden for native plants, removing invasive species and more!
  • Types of Volunteers Needed: individual/adult; individual/high school; families with children; adult groups of less than 5; adult groups of 6 or more, including corporate teams
  • Hours Needed: business hours during the week; evenings during the week; daytime on the weekend