Individual Volunteer Opportunities

Volunteers of the Cut Pile Burn Crew prepare the grounds in front of the Nauset Lighthouse by cutting brush.

Your contribution of time and energy helps us to protect the magnificent natural and cultural resources of Cape Cod National Seashore. Opportunities for individual volunteers are available year-round, with the greatest need for volunteers in the summer season. Volunteers help with visitor center services, educate visitors about safety issues and wildlife, restore the landscape, maintain trails, provide tours for visitors at historic sites and perform a variety of other tasks.

Visit www.volunteer.gov to view current listings for Cape Cod National Seashore or other NPS units.

Want to volunteer but don't see a position that matches your interests/skill set? Contact us by emailing the volunteer program.

 

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Recurring Volunteer Opportunities

Below are examples of regularly offered volunteer positions at Cape Cod National Seashore.

 

 

A volunteer with the Beach Water Quality program travels to the various beaches of the park to collect samples.

Photo: NPS

_{Beach Water Quality Volunteers}

Volunteers travel to the national seashore's six swimming beaches from Eastham to Provincetown on Monday mornings to collect water samples and record weather conditions. Volunteers then drop the samples off at seashore headquarters in Wellfleet to be delivered to a laboratory for analysis.

 

_{Visitor Center Assistants}

Visitor Center Assistants work alongside park staff at the Salt Pond and Province Lands visitor centers. Volunteers support visitor center staff by sharing information with park visitors, answering the telephone and responding to questions.

 

Water quality testing at Kettle Pond.

Photo: NPS

Aquatic Ecology Volunteers

The main duties of this volunteer program is assisting with aquatic ecology monitoring and research projects in ponds, estuaries, and salt marshes; specifically, focusing on water quality, hydrology, and coastal invertebrate and vegetation monitoring. This opportunity is intended for enthusiastic individuals with an interest in developing their field and instrumentation skills in water quality monitoring and aquatic ecology. Volunteers for this program need to be able to committ to 25-40 hours a week for at least 8 weeks assisting the projects with the benefit of working directly with researchers in the park's natural resource management division.

 

_{Adopt-A-Trail Volunteers}

Volunteers work in partnership with Friends of the Cape Cod National Seashore to perform minor trail maintenance, such as vegetation trimming, and to report trail conditions. Volunteers work on an as-needed, independent basis at their assigned trails. Occasionally volunteers are requested to participate in a group project, such as installing water bars or building up eroded trails.

 

Mark Adams, GIS Specialist of Cape Cod National Seashore, provides a training for the volunteers of the Seal Education Team.

Photo: NPS

_{Seal Education Team}

Provide information to visitors who are viewing seals resting at low tide on sandbars in Truro and Eastham. Discuss seal species, natural history, and biology, and the dynamics between seals and sharks. Encourage compliance with Marine Mammal Protection Act guidelines, such as keeping dogs on leashes and not approaching seals. This position promotes visitor understanding of national seashore resources and protection.