New England Aquarium

Ever wonder how we make our exhibits? This is your chance to find out! Volunteers will work alongside our design team in the Charlestown studio to help create some new exhibits. Volunteers will help prepare models, chip away excess, and paint foam structures with a protective sealant to prepare them for display. This work is dirty, dusty, and sealant is industrial-grade, so volunteers should wear clothes they don't mind ruining. Gloves and burshes will be provided. Help is needed with a number of tasks which may vary day to day. Below is generally what you can expect: Aug 27-31: Assist (mainly cleaning up) with foam sculpting Sept. 3-7: Assist (mainly cleaning up) with foam sculpting and painting latex on reef sculptures Sept. 10-14: Assist (mainly cleaning up) with foam sculpting and painting latex on reef sculptures Sept. 17-21: Painting latex on reef sculptures Sept. 24-28: Painting latex on reef sculptures After signing up, please check the "Locations Details" link in your Upcoming Opportunities (in the My Account tab) for instructions, including important phone numbers.

Polls show that voters consistently rank environmental issues among their lowest concerns in every election. This is a huge problem. Politicians want to win elections, and if environmental issues are a low priority for voters, they will be a low priority for policy makers. Yet polls also show that tens of millions of Americans strongly prioritize progressive environmental policies – the real problem is that these people do not vote. Indeed, even in recent nationwide elections, over 15 million individually identified environmentalists have stayed at home on Election Day. Therefore, the key to getting powerful environmental policies in place is not only to persuade more Americans to be environmentalists, it is also as simple as getting more of our existing environmentalists to vote. The Environmental Voter Project uses big-data analytics to identify inactive environmentalists and then applies cutting-edge behavioral science to turn them into more consistent voters. Using a new generation of Get-Out-The-Vote techniques, they are dramatically increasing voter turnout while precisely measuring our impact. EVP is a nonpartisan nonprofit organization that does not endorse candidates or tell people how to vote; instead, EVP focuses on increasing environmental voter turnout to make the voices and needs of the environment heard. This is where you come in! Volunteers will receive an introduction to EVP’s mission and a training on basic phone and text-banking tools. From there, we will contact environmental voters via phone calls and/or text messages in an effort to increase voter turnout. No prior experience or training is necessary! Scripts will be provided, and you can opt for either speaking on the phone or sending text messages. *Please note: volunteers will need to use their own phone to participate. Smart phones work best for the texting app. If opting for phone banking (instead of texting), please bring a laptop so we can provide the appropriate applications.*

Volunteers for the Aquarium Lecture Series assist with checking in guests, answer questions, set-up and break down materials, provide general program support, and provide an overall pleasant and inviting atmosphere. You are also welcome to stay to enjoy the lecture! To learn more about the lecture series and to see upcoming speakers, see our website.

The Neponset River Watershed includes 14 cities and towns and is home to over 300,000 residents. That means there is a lot of potential for trash to find its way into the 30-mile long Neponset River and eventually into the Atlantic Ocean. Luckily we are here to help! Join our mighty team of volunteers for a cleanup along the Neoponset River! We will be working to pull debris both large and small out of the river. Historically, we've found parts of cars, rusted-out safes, construction debris, and countless pieces of foam of all sizes. This is sure to be a productive, fun, and dirty day, so be sure to come wearing clothes you don't mind getting muddy! Interested in bringing friends, your school group, or your corporate group? Just send a note to volunteer@neaq.org and we'd be happy to designate a site for your team! We need all the help we can get! An orientation to the live blue(TM) Service Corps will be held at the end of this cleanup if you are interested in continuing to volunteer, so no orientation is required to attend this event.

Join us for Stewardship Saturday on the Boston Harbor Islands! We will be working with the National Park Service to conduct clean-ups, remove invasive species, and other beautification projects. Each project takes place on a different island and will involve a different set of work. Tools and gloves will be provided, but be prepared with sturdy shoes, long sleeves and pants to protect from thorns and poison ivy, and clothes you don't mind getting dirty. The boat for these projects leaves precisely at 9am. The departure site varies between projects, so keep an eye on your e-mail for details.

Boomerang Bags is an Australian-based organization dedicated to reducing our dependence on single-use plastic bags. We can limit this major source of litter by using reusable bags! The Boston chapter of Boomerang Bags is working to upcycle old fabrics into reusable bags to be used by local organizations, providing access to homemade bags for those that need them. At this event, volunteers from Boomerang Bags will be enlisting visitors to help with various tasks to help assemble new bags, including sorting materials, doing some basic sewing, and stamping materials. Service Corps volunteers are needed to support the event, talk to visitors about the connection to the Aquarium's mission, and answer FAQ's. Volunteers with previous experience within the Aquarium are preferred. Click "Express Interest" below and you will be notified when the final team is selected.

Non-native, introduced marine species, such as green crabs and striped anemones, can have detrimental impacts on the ecosystems they invade. These species can out-compete native plants and animals, leading to drastic changes in marine habitats. 298 species of marine invertebrates, 100 species of fish, and 200 species of plants have been identified as invasive in North American bays and coasts alone. Once established, these species can be impossible to remove. Our best defense is to monitor their growth and attempt to pass policies to prevent their spread. This is where citizen science comes in! The Service Corps is partnering with the Office of Coastal Zone Management and the Marine Invader Monitoring and Information Collaborative (MIMIC) to regularly identify and monitor invasive species in Quincy. After a brief training on identifying a few common culprits, volunteers will work in teams to record what species are growing on floating docks in a marina. No prior species identification experience necessary! Just come prepared to learn and to get your hands dirty! *Note this project may vary in length from 1-2 hours depending on size of the volunteer team*

Want to know more about the live blue Service Corps? Through this program, we partner with area environmental organizations to provide episodic volunteer opportunities with a smaller commitment that also have an important impact on our mission! This program has built in flexibility; you only sign up for the service events in which you're interested and for which you have the time. To become a live blue Service Corps member, volunteers are first required to attend a one time, hour long orientation at the Aquarium. During this orientation you'll learn more about the live blue Service Corps, what kinds of projects you'll be doing, and what to expect. It's also a great chance to meet other volunteers! After attending the orientation you'll be able to sign up for any and all live blue Service Corps projects posted on serve.neaq.org/calendar. [Note that if you are interested in a more committed program, namely those in animal care and education, please visit serve.neaq.org/ClassicCorps to read about the application process]

The Condor Street Urban Wild is a waterfront natural area and park in East Boston abutting the inner harbor shipping channel of Chelsea Creek and all of its marine industrial uses. Adjacent to a great new playground, this open area is a monument to the value of open space in a congested, low income, urban neighborhood. The Condor Street Urban Wild should be more aptly named phoenix after the mythical bird that rose from the ashes. For more than a century, this 4.5 acre site was used for heavy industry. Now it is a thriving greenspace! By the 1980’s, the contaminated site was an urban brown-field. Designated as a remediation project during the Big Dig, the site had tons of metal, tires concrete and asphalt removed. The area was capped and redeveloped as a functioning coastal habitat with a salt marsh, tidal flats and an upland meadow. Opened to the public in 2003, the natural area also has walking paths, a boardwalk and a viewing platform overlooking the Chelsea Creek estuary. Events here include litter clean-up, the removal of flotsam from wetlands, and pruning and mulching the young trees on this Boston Parks property. September 23-29 is Climate Preparedness Week! After helping out at this coastal park, walk over to the East Boston Library for a Community Conversation on climate impacts in the area. The session is from 3-4:30 PM at the East Boston Library, 365 S Bremen St, Boston, MA 02128.This event is sponsored by the New England Aquarium and the Community Advancing Science Literacy City Teams, Piers Park Sailing Center, Eastie Farm, The Harborkeepers, and Zumix. Refreshments will be provided.

Each September through November, thousands of volunteers throughout Massachusetts turn out for COASTSWEEP—the statewide coastal cleanup sponsored by the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management (CZM). COASTSWEEP is part of the International Coastal Cleanup organized by Ocean Conservancy in Washington, DC. Volunteers from all over the world collect marine debris—trash, fishing line, and any other human-made items—and record what they find. This information is then analyzed and used to identify sources of marine debris and develop education and policy initiatives to help reduce it. Join us at Revere Beach to pickup trash, educate the public, and collect valuable data on marine debris!

Accepting Applications for Waitlist Time commitment: One full day (8:00 am.-5:00 p.m.) per week for a period of 6 months Summary: American lobsters are a cultural icon and one of the most important fisheries in New England. But did you know it takes a lobster 7 years to grow to 1 pound (the legal harvest size)? At the New England Aquarium, larval and juvenile lobsters are raised in a small hatchery and then used in experiments, which have focused on growth, nutrition, and disease. Project Description: Responsibilities: Must have a desire to learn how to care for hundreds of juvenile lobsters in a small research setting. Daily tasks include observing, recording data, and feeding all lobsters in the research collection, collecting and counting newly hatched larvae, changing filters, and cleaning tanks. Opportunities to become a more active participant in ongoing research may become available, but are subject to current progress, research scope, and supervisor discretion. Qualifications: Strong interest in working with animals in a research environment. Must have basic computer skills, be able to follow written protocols, and work independently. Must be comfortable working in a wet laboratory environment, and willing to get dirty. Good attention to detail is essential. Prior lobster experience is not necessary. Must be at least 18 years old.

Education Outreach Volunteer Not currently recruiting FLEXIBLE hours due to variability of programming Summary: Aquarium Student Programs Volunteers represent the New England Aquarium off-site at schools and community centers as well as onsite alongside Aquarium Education staff. Volunteers will assist in the delivery of programs to preschool and school-age children and families on a range of marine topics. Programs may include live animals, classroom-style, exhibit-style programming or a theater presentation. The New England Aquarium reaches over 35,000 school children a year through our off-site programming. Responsibilities: · Assist with material preparation and transportation for New England Aquarium programs across New England; transportation of animals; program setup. · Answer questions and initiate conversation with program participants. · Train to lead portions of scripted programs. · When applicable, maintains marine organisms and observes animal health during programs. Programming includes: a. Outreach to schools & daycare centers b. Outreach to member's homes for birthday parties c. Outreach to community centers and after school sites d. Outreach/on-site private & promotional events e. Outdoor programming with school groups & families at a field site f. On-site classes for school groups, homeschool students, families and members 2 years-18 years Qualifications: · Willingness to learn about Aquarium exhibits, programs and marine science. · Comfort in public speaking for multiple age groups of diverse interests and backgrounds. · Must be comfortable handling marine organisms. · Must have enthusiasm and an interest in meeting and working with elementary age children. · Must be at least 18 years old. · Must have the ability to be CORI/SORI certified. Desirable: · Comfortable interpreting and presenting on marine science topics · Experience in public speaking and/or theater · Experience working with early childhood (ages 2 through 8) · Experience working with English Language Learner and/or special needs audiences · First Aid, CPR, or higher life saving certification · Knowledge of Boston neighborhoods, Boston Public Schools, and/or Boston afterschool centers · Summer camp background or experience teaching in the field Physical Demands: The physical demands listed are representative of those that must be met by a volunteer to successfully perform the essential functions of the position. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the position. While performing the duties of this position, the volunteer is required to talk, hear, sit, stand, walk, bend, stoop, crawl, reach, push/pull, and lift up to 59 lbs. Occasionally the volunteer is required to lift up to 99 lbs. The volunteer is required to apply limited manual dexterity in combination with eye-hand coordination such as basic keyboarding, basic hand tools and instruments, filing, operating office equipment, operating a motor vehicle, etc. The volunteer must have good vision to read documents for general understanding. The volunteer will be required to review non-written materials for general observation purposes. Shift schedule varies according to program; start time between 6:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. Shifts are typically between 5 to 10 hours. It may be possible to accommodate some schedule preferences.