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Gateway volunteers cleaning out a Tree Swallow nest box in the Grassland Management Area of Floyd Bennett Field in the park's Jamaica Bay Unit.

The Volunteer-in-Parks (VIP) Program

Gateway needs your talents and interests. Volunteer at one of the park's three units---Jamaica Bay, Sandy Hook or Staten Island---and have fun, learn new skills and meet people!

Volunteers serve many important roles throughout Gateway. They staff information desks, give public tours, monitor and conserve the park's diverse natural and cultural resources, help design exhibits and brochures and rehabilitate historic aircraft, among other duties. Their support helps protect, preserve and enhance Gateway's natural, cultural and recreational resources. 

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HARP volunteers not only repair historic aircraft, but also share their knowledge of aviation with visitors.

Great! How Do I Sign Up?

Email us or call 718-354-4602 for information on current volunteer opportunities throughout Gateway. You can get a head start on the volunteer application here.

Jamaica Bay Unit offers prospective volunteers a wide variety of opportunities for service. These include assisting with public and education programming, sailing and boating programs, visitor center operations, natural resource management, historic aircraft restoration with HARP, trail maintenance and many others. To learn more, call Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge at 718-318-4340.

Volunteers at Sandy Hook Unit staff the Visitor Center, Fort Hancock Museum, History House, Battery Potter, the Nike Radar Site, and the Sandy Hook Lighthouse. Others contribute by monitoring the piping plover, cleaning the beaches, putting up fences or wildlife viewing platforms and painting historic structures. Internship opportunities are also available for college students. Please call 732-872-5881 to volunteer. Read the Sandy Hook Foghorn to learn more about volunteering at the Hook.

Staten Island 

• Citizen Science Program at Great Kills Park Helps Build Dragonfly Database
• Community Resources, Exceptional People Doing Exceptional Park Work 

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Volunteers who work 500 hours can receive a pass entitling them to free entry to Federal lands for a year. That includes national parks and forests.

Volunteering Has Its Benefits

What do volunteers get in return? First, they share the National Park Service's sense of pride in preserving America's treasures.

Second, volunteers who earn 500 or more hours can receive a pass entitling them to free entry to all Federal lands for 12 months. It is honored nationwide at all National Park Service, Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclaimation and US Fish and Wildlife Service areas charging entrance or standard amenity fees.