Volunteers Needed

After occupying a temporary Visitor Information Station for two and a half years, Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge reopened the renovated Visitor Center on October 1, 2005. More volunteers are now needed to staff the information desk and provide information to the visiting public, as well as to assist the Friends of Blackwater in the daily operation of the wonderfully enlarged bookstore. Training is provided to all volunteers throughout the year and also during our annual training sessions that are normally held in August.

The main prerequisite to being a Blackwater volunteer is a willingness to meet and talk with people -- and knowing how to smile! Volunteers will be helping people from all over the world while learning firsthand about Blackwater's numerous and fascinating wildlife. If you are interested in wildlife, like people, and enjoy educating others about wildlife and Dorchester County, then this is the job for you!!

Volunteers staffing the Visitor Center will normally work an 8:00am to 12:00pm or a 12:00pm to 4:00pm shift during the weekdays; but we especially need weekend volunteers who would work a 9:00am to 1:00pm or 1:00pm to 5:00pm shift on weekends. You can work as many shifts as you want including all day once a month, once a week, or more often. We are aiming for two people for every shift. It's a great chance to work with your spouse if you want to do something together.

Volunteers are also needed for other types of activities at the Refuge including: performing maintenance (painting, fence building, mowing grass, constructing hiking trails, and janitorial cleaning); assisting with biological surveys and studies (invasive species mapping, frog surveys, shorebird surveys, breeding bird surveys, bluebird box surveys, plant identification, planting trees and marsh grass, and bird box repair); answering phones and filing; maintaining a computer data base; numbering, cataloging, and organizing library books; assisting with environmental education programs and training; and being a tour guide for bus tours, trail walks, and orientation programs to the Refuge.

Blackwater Refuge is a wonderful place to volunteer, so come join us as we help out nature while having a great time. If you are interested in any of these volunteer positions, please don't hesitate to call Maggie Briggs at 410-228-2677 (or email her at maggie_briggs@fws.gov) to find out more about the positions and the volunteer training.