Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area - Volunteer Stewardship Teams (U.S. National Park Service)

Join a stewardship team and connect with nature while contributing to scientific research or helping with park management. Effective conservation and stewardship of park land depends on long-term public involvement. All these programs rely on community support, and require the participation of dedicated volunteers. Most teams require a commitment of more than one day, but requirements vary.

Volunteer removes invasive plants from Boston Harbor Islands

Volunteer removes invasive pepperweed from Thompson Island.

Habitat Restoration Team
Island habitat restoration activities bring together a community of park stewards to protect and enhance native biodiversity in wild natural areas of the Park. While working side by side we will also share information about the natural and cultural history of the islands, take time to experience the beauty of the park on the micro and macro-scales, and have fun! These programs are scheduled every Saturday each month from May through October.

» Habitat Restoration Job Description
» Habitat Restoration Poster

Volunteer monitors record nesting birds at Boston Harbor Islands

Volunteers record data on nesting birds at Boston Harbor Islands

Bird Monitoring Team
Boston Harbor Islands national park area was designated as a Massachusetts Important Bird Area (IBA) because the park provides habitat for a significant number of colonial-nesting waterbirds. National Park Service identified these birds as indicator species of the overall health or condition of the park. National Park Service, in conjunction with University of Rhode Island, developed a long-term volunteer-based monitoring protocol to improve our understanding of these breeding waterbirds, the effects of habitat changes, and management actions.

Volunteers work with a researcher and park staff to implement this protocol, which focuses on obtaining information on the relative abundance of thirteen coastal breeding species by estimating or directly counting nests, incubating adults, or territorial nesting pairs.

» Waterbird Volunteer Job Description
» 2009 Draft Field Schedule
» Waterbird Volunteer Guide
» Coastal Breeding-Bird Monitoring Poster

» Field Notes
Field Survey Summaries

Birders–You can help with data collection, even if not trained for the Monitoring Team. Enter the birds you see any time in eBird, an interactive database. Learn more at "Birds."

Solar panels on Spectacle Island Visitor Center.

Green Team
The Boston Harbor Islands Partnership Subcommittee on Renewable Energy and Sustainable Design—the Green Team—promotes sustainable practices in park management. The group meets regularly for information exchange and strategy discussion, and takes on projects to further sustainability.

Find out about the next meeting

Grasshopper captured on Boston Harbor Islands

A grasshopper volunteers to be counted on Boston Harbor Islands

Taxonomy Team
The Boston Harbor Islands Partnership and the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology have begun an inventory of the insect and other invertebrate species that inhabit the "micro-wilderness" of the islands. Scientists and naturalists are needed to assist in this ATBI (all taxa biodiversity inventory) effort. You can help in the field or the lab to identify the myriad insects and other invertebrates that we are collecting.

» ATBI Volunteer Job Description

Volunteers using quadrats explore the intertidal zone.

Volunteers explore the intertidal zone on Peddocks Island.

Intertidal Habitat Monitoring Team

Rocky shores provide critical habitat to a great diversity of intertidal seaweeds and invertebrates. However, intertidal plants and animals are threatened by a variety of stressors including climate change, invasive species, pollution and human trampling.

National Park Service is collaborating with Northeastern University Marine Science Center to develop a long-term protocol for monitoring rocky shores that will rely on volunteers. Long term monitoring will provide information on changes to the marine environment that can be used to assess the effect of factors such as sea level rise, and help identify shifts in ecosystem structure or function.

» Rocky Intertidal Volunteer Job Description
» Rocky Intertidal Monitoring Poster