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Volunteer

We appreciate your interest in becoming a volunteer! The Watershed relies on our volunteer family to help us protect our water and environment in central New Jersey. We have a small staff, but a large mission, so we have plenty of opportunities for volunteering. You could join us by spending an afternoon clearing brush, staffing the front desk in our beautiful Watershed Center, feeding our critters, helping out with office work, monitoring the water quality of our local streams, or assisting at one of our events highlighting the natural world, such as our Butterfly Festival. Whatever your talents and interests are, we will find a way for you to contribute!

Meet Eve Niedergang, our volunteer coordinator. She works closely with individuals, schools and businesses to connect eager hands to crucial tasks. Volunteering is fun and rewarding; we would love to hear from you. Please email Eve at [email protected].

The Watershed has many options for volunteering in various aspects of the work we do to keep water clean, safe and healthy. Please explore the tabbed sections below and see what appeals to you!

Stewardship
Help keep our trails and grounds in good condition. Clear brush and invasive plants. Assist with light carpentry, painting and other upkeep and maintenance tasks.

Trail Watchers and Guardians of the Trail
Volunteer and help regularly monitor and maintain the more than 10 miles of trails on our 950-acre Watershed Reserve.  Guardians commit to coming at least once a month to work on a specific trail. Trail Watchers help as they can without making a specific time commitment.

Litter Patrol
Help keep the Watershed pristine by helping with this late winter/early spring litter patrol along the Watershed’s surrounding roads.

StreamWatch 
Join the Biological Action Team, Chemical Action Team, or Bacteria Action Team to monitor local waterways at assigned locations within our watershed. Minimum age for participation is 14 years with adult supervision, and 17 years for volunteers working independently. Minimum length of volunteer commitment is one year. Data entry volunteers also needed.

Front Desk Reception
Greet visitors to the Watershed and help them learn about our mission and programs.  We are looking for friendly, personable representatives to be the “first face” of the Watershed Association. Duties include:  registering and checking in program participants, orienting visitors to the building, making sales in our nature shop, and answering questions. Full training provided. Four-hour shifts Monday-Friday and three-hour shifts Saturday and Sunday.

Front Desk “Floater”
If you don’t have a consistent time each week or month to volunteer, the “floater” position may be perfect for you. Fill in with the Front Desk Reception duties to fit your schedule.

Office Assistant
Stuff, stamp and address envelopes, perform data entry and other office tasks on an occasional basis.  It may not be glamorous, but it essential to our mission. We even provide snacks!

English-to-Spanish Translator
Translate printed materials into Spanish.

Nature Shop Associate
Assist our store manager with periodic inventory and restocking –for those who’ve always wanted to manage their own little shop!

Stream Cleanup Volunteer 
Our annual stream cleanup events are held in multiple municipalities around the Watershed every April. Join your neighbors and friends to help pick up litter and debris from your neighborhood. Visit our Stream Cleanup page to learn more.

Citizen Action
Write letters to your local representatives and newspapers, attend meetings on land use to help support the Watershed’s mission of protecting our water and environment.

Community Events Volunteer
Represent the Watershed at community festivals, greenfests, farmers’ markets and other public events by staffing a table, distributing informational materials, talking about the Watershed and its mission, and answering questions about how to keep New Jersey’s waterways clean.

Volunteer Teacher/Naturalist
Assist with programs for the public or for visiting school groups.

Citizen Naturalist
Lead a public program for visitors on a subject about which you are passionate and knowledgeable, assist with wildlife monitoring projects (such as bluebird box monitoring), field guide expansion project, butterfly house management, and wildlife observation records.

Critter Care Assistant
Critter Care Assistants help feed, clean, and care our collection of small animals. An ideal volunteer (age 12+) will be dedicated and attentive to the needs of our animals to ensure their health and safety. Volunteers must be able to travel to SBMWA, be able to reach inside of the animal tanks, and lift heavy bowls. (Committed parent assistance is fine to help with heavy lifting.)

Butterfly Festival
Promote, setup, staff, and clean up for our annual summer Butterfly Festival.  Crafts, foods, and nature are the stars of this family friendly event.  All Butterfly Festival volunteers will receive one free family pass to the Festival.

Other Events
Staff other events throughout the year such as our Fairy Festival, Halloween Hike and the Trail Run, among others.

Watershed FEST
Assist with our major fundraiser for the year!  Starting in April, volunteers are needed to obtain and catalog donations to the silent auction, plan event themes and decorations, and provide other event planning services. Watershed FEST is held in October.

Photographer/Videographer
Work with Watershed Association staff to photograph and/or record Watershed Association events and programs, natural scenes in our watershed, or other “per assignment” projects for the organization.

Boardwalk Construction
Help us build a boardwalk to make some of our trails accessible to wheelchair users.  If you’ve ever built a deck or done extensive carpentry, this one is for you!

Corporate and Organization Work Days
Organize a group from your business, school, or house of worship to work on a project here at the Watershed.  We can design an individualized work project for your group for a few hours or a whole day, depending on your schedule.  Please contact us to coordinate a group work day!

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