Volunteer Opportunities
Join our growing team of volunteers and help sanctuary staff offer expanded programming. Volunteers provide assistance with field research programs, education and outreach events, facilities maintenance, and administrative support.
If interested in volunteering, please fill out thevolunteer application form. You can also download a PDF version of the form and send it to us via email or regular mail. We connect to new applicants on a quarterly basis.
Regular Opportunities
Our busiest volunteer season is between April - October, with occasional events in the offseason.
Stellwagen Ambassadors: Individuals interested in working with the public help build awareness of the sanctuary by sharing information at public forums, running engaging activities at public events, including Salt inflatable whale visits, and giving presentations to community groups.
Education: Volunteers with teaching backgrounds, marine science backgrounds, and writing skills help develop curricular materials for schools, outreach programs, and the sanctuary website.
Periodic Opportunities
Data Management: Individuals assist research staff in gathering scientific data from archives or in the field, manage databases, and analyze data. Volunteers help review raw video footage and image archives for exceptional images, digitize images, and help organize and retrieve images. These opportunities also have the potential to be virtual.
Stellwagen Sanctuary Seabird Stewards (S4) Program: Experienced birders and data recorders who are comfortable on the open water and can follow basic protocol support our seabird research and monitoring program in collaboration with Mass Audubon. This is one of the sanctuary's premier citizen science programs. We complete about 5 trips per year from our research vessel and have occasional opportunities to collect data onboard whale watching vessels.
Media Support: Volunteers help review raw video footage and image archives for exceptional images, digitize images, and help organize and retrieve images
Communications/Social Media: Individuals with an interest in communicating with the public help develop content for sanctuary publications, web pages, and social media outlets. These opportunities also have the potential to be virtual.
Student Projects: The sanctuary works with individual students and groups from elementary schools through universities, offering community service projects and partnership opportunities. We have occasional opportunities for internships.
Sanctuary Advisory Council (SAC): Volunteers from non-governmental organizations and the general public serve with government representatives on the council, which is the formal organizational link to the sanctuary's user community. The council includes a youth member, three at-large members, and alternates for all seats.