Volunteer Opportunities

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is an agency that is dedicated to the principle of resource conservation and it needs YOU - your talents, your enthusiasm and some of your time at the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center in Fremont and the Environmental Education Center in Alviso.

Various opportunities exist at the refuge for volunteers to gain valuable and rewarding experience. Volunteers assist Refuge employees by working in such fields as: interpretation, environmental education, resource management, maintenance, native plant nursery at Fremont, and the butterfly garden at Alviso.

Environmental Education Program- Field Trips

There are two free educator-led field trip programs offered at the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge, the WETLAND ROUND-UP FIELD TRIP and TREKKING THE REFUGE FIELD TRIP. These programs actively involve teachers, adult volunteers, and students in investigating the diverse habitats and wildlife at the refuge. The hands-on, small group activities are designed to teach basic ecological concepts and to introduce endangered species, migrating birds, and wetland habitats to the students.

WETLAND ROUND-UP FIELD TRIP: Investigate creatures of the mud flats, the plankton and other creatures in the slough, and the pickleweed in the salt marsh on the Wetland Round-up Field Trip. This field trip is designed for grades K-8, for up to 65 students. Offered at both the Visitor Center in Fremont and the Environmental Education Center in Alviso. (No field trips from Oct though Dec 2003 at the Visitor Center in Fremont due to trail construction.)

TREKKING THE REFUGE FIELD TRIP: Trek the one-mile Tidelands Trail, and learn about the natural history of the refuge! Then explore the salt marsh, salt ponds, and the slough. Trekking the Refuge is designed for grades 3-8, for up to 36 students. Offered only at the Visitor Center in Fremont. (No field trips from Oct though Dec 2003 at the Visitor Center in Fremont due to trail construction.)

SLOW THE FLOW FIELD TRIP: Incorporates the topics of wastewater treatment, habitat alterations,and water conservation into the field trip program. It is designed for 4-8,for up to 36 students. Offered only at the Environmental Education Center in Alviso.

ORIENTATIONS: Educators and Youth Leaders conduct their own field trips after attending a free field trip orientation workshop. These 4 hour sessions provide the information you need to design your own Wetland Round-Up, Trekking the Refuge or Slow the Flow Field Trips. In addition, adult volunteers must be recruited to lead the activities at the different learning stations and to chaperone the rotating groups of students. We provide easy to follow "scripts" for each station, but both "leaders" and "chaperones" are strongly encouraged to attend the orientation.