Volunteer
Volunteers help to ensure national marine sanctuaries remain America's underwater treasures for future generations. These volunteers participate in a wide variety of activities including diving, whale identification, beach cleanups, water quality monitoring, collecting field observations and surveys, acting as visitor center docents, and wildlife monitoring.
National marine sanctuary volunteers work in close collaboration with many other groups in their local communities including non-profits, boat operators, academic institutions, federal agencies, tribal agencies, researchers and many more.
Program History
The NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries volunteer program began in the mid-1990s with the development of Beach Watch and Team OCEAN at Gulf of the Farallones and Florida Keys national marine sanctuaries, respectively. Today, volunteers are an integral part of many sanctuary programs, contributing invaluable time and energy across the sanctuary system. The diverse skills, knowledge and support they provide help expand the reach of the national marine sanctuaries and build on the work of sanctuary staff.Strength in Numbers
Sanctuary volunteers are a vital and powerful force contributing significantly to the success of the sanctuary system.
- In 2022, national marine sanctuary volunteers contributed 57,223 hours across the system, which is equivalent to 31 full-time federal employees.
- Sanctuary volunteers contributed $1.7M to the sanctuary system last year (calculated using the non-profit organization Independent Sector's 2022 estimated value of volunteer time of $29.95 per hour).
- In 2022, 3,162 of these volunteers specifically supported citizen science efforts helping to answer real-world scientific questions with a total of 31,063 hours.
Citizen Science
Citizen science is a term that describes projects in which volunteers partner with scientists to answer real-world questions. These volunteers can work with scientists to identify research questions, collect and analyze data, interpret results, make new discoveries, develop technologies and applications, as well as solve complex problems. Learn more about national marine sanctuary projects that rely on the support of citizen scientist volunteers.
National Recognition
Since 2003, the NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries and National Marine Sanctuary Foundation have recognized the important work of volunteers around the country and annually named one as Volunteer of the Year.
Take Pride in America Awards
Take Pride in America is a nationwide partnership program authorized by Congress to promote appreciation and stewardship of public lands. In 2011, the Channel Islands Naturalist Corps received the Take Pride in America Outstanding Federal Volunteer Program Award. This joint effort by Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary and Channel Islands National Park, was recognized for coordinating more than 140 volunteers who are specially-trained to educate visitors. Each year these naturalists reach more than 500,000 people attending whale-watch tours, island hikes and community events.
Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary's Ocean Count project was named Take Pride in America Outstanding Federal Volunteer Program for 2012. The project has grown from 150 volunteers in 1996 to more than 2,300 volunteers in 2014. Volunteers count whales and record their behavior from more than 60 locations across the islands of O'ahu, Kaua'i and Hawai'i. Over the past 17 years, more than 20,000 volunteers have contributed 100,000 hours of time.
The Future of Volunteers
Volunteer programs continue to grow around the sanctuary system, and the total number of hours contributed rise every year. The NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries continues to expand and improve the volunteer program through increased awareness and better collaboration between sanctuary sites and with other federal and state partners.
Volunteer at the NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries Headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland
What We Offer
We invite you to join a dedicated and enthusiastic team at NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries headquarters, where you will gain valuable resume-building experience, and an insider's perspective from the nation's leader in ocean conservation and management. As a volunteer, you will work on a variety of projects tailored to meet your capacity, availability, and interests. We are based in Silver Spring, Maryland and are easily accessible on Washington DC's metro system. As a volunteer in our office, you'll be encouraged to attend ocean conservation events, lectures, conferences, and receptions that provide fantastic networking opportunities for your career development. Note that in some cases, positions allow volunteers to work remotely, some or all of the time.
We cooperate to ensure students receive credit for their volunteer hours when applicable. We can arrange positions for part-time and full-time availability; while the duration of volunteer positions can vary, most typically last at least eight weeks. As these are volunteer positions, stipends are currently unavailable.
Eligibility
Volunteer positions are open to all individuals over the age of 15. There is required paperwork and the NOAA Office of Security requires a background check, which will begin before the start of your volunteer experience.
Notice for non-U.S. citizens: You must hold a J-1 visa and be accepted as a volunteer at least 45 days prior to the scheduled start date to complete additional security clearance. Note that NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries does not sponsor J-1 visas.
If you have questions regarding eligibility, please contact Claire.Fackler@noaa.gov.
How to Apply
To apply for a volunteer position with NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, please review the available position links below.
Available Volunteer Positions at Headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland
Destination Stewardship Marketing/Communications for Ocean Recreation and Tourism - Volunteer Position
Did you know that the National Marine Sanctuary System is managed for the conservation of their natural and cultural resources, while supporting sustainable recreation and tourism? We invite you to join a dedicated and enthusiastic team at NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries where you will gain invaluable resume-building experience and an insider's perspective from the nation's leader in ocean conservation and management.
Sanctuary Socioeconomics Volunteer Position
The NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries develops and implements socioeconomic research and monitoring to support assessments of management strategies and regulations affecting various stakeholder user groups. ONMS is seeking an economics or social science student to provide socioeconomic research support to the chief economist.