Volunteer

Make a Difference 

Join our Volunteer Team today!

Our volunteers inspire the next generation of Earth stewards, take data to bring about environmental protections, connect nature to visitors around the world, and more.

We offer over ten volunteer programs to bring you closer to nature in the way you enjoy most. Our programs are accessible for all ages from high school students to full-time workers and retirees. We look forward to having you on our volunteer team!

  • Share you passion for the natural world with our Museum volunteer programs, available year-round during Museum opening hours. Click on each link to learn more.

    • Museum Docent
      Inspire Museum visitors to conserve the natural and cultural wonders of the Central Coast.

    • Exploration Station
      Facilitate a love of nature to young visitors with special collection items and crafts that rotate each weekend.

    • Garden Volunteer
      Work with a skilled team to keep our Native Plant Garden blooming.

    • Science Saturday
      Lead fun activities, connect to community partners, and more with this monthly Museum-wide program.

  • Enjoy the beauty of butterflies with our Monarch Sanctuary volunteer programs, available October - March. Click on each link to learn more.

    • Monarch Docent
      Inspire Monarch Sanctuary visitors to take action to protect the beautiful and threatened Western Monarch Butterfly.

    • Sanctuary Field Trip
      Lead students through the Monarch Sanctuary to discover the wonder of the magnificent and threatened Western Monarch Butterfly.

    • Western Monarch Count
      Track the population of the threatened Western Monarch Butterfly, both at the Pacific Grove Monarch Sanctuary and at sites across Monterey County.

  • Inspire environmental stewardship in students, from pre-K through college. These programs are available from Sept - May. Click on each link to learn more.

    • Museum Field Trips
      Guide young students (grades pre-K - 5) through field trips with special scavenger hunts and topics including pollinators, ocean animals, and cultural history.

    • LiMPETS
      Take students (grades 6 - college) to the shore to conduct community science for local rocky shore and sandy beach habitats.

    • Watershed Guardians
      Assist students (grades 6 - college) with real-time water quality analysis with local watersheds at sites along the Carmel and Salinas Rivers.

  • Connect to the community with night events and outreach, available year-round with evening and weekend availability. Click on each link to learn more.

    • General Events
      Represent the Museum with a wide range of events at the Museum: birthday parties, community partner meetings, First Fridays, and more.

    • Outreach Programs
      Bring the natural world across the county, helping to inspire visitors at libraries, community markets, and local events.

    • Summer & Holiday Camps
      Facilitate the joy of science to young visitors with Museum summer and school holiday camps.

A volunteer engages with a visitor with a science activity, outside in the Museum's garden.

Resources for Current Volunteers

What is Community Science?

Community science is a rapidly growing field that engages the entire community for scientific research. Anyone can engage in community science. There is no academic prerequisites, just training for individual programs.

Community science volunteers collect or analyze data that can be used by researchers, policy makers, and more. Some programs are seasonal. Most have flexible scheduling, which allows full-time students or others with limited volunteer availability to participate.

The Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History is partnered with several community science projects that align with our mission of discovery, wonder, and stewardship of the natural world.

  • The Black Oystercatcher (BLOY) Monitoring Project studies a charismatic local shorebird to understand the health of the rocky shore environment.

    This seasonal community science program runs from May - September, which nicely complements our monarch programs (October - March). It is conducted in partnership with the California Coastal National Monument and Monterey Audubon.

    Recruitment for BLOY volunteers will begin in March 2025.

    Click here to learn more.

  • MPA (Marine Protected Area) Watch monitors how people use our protected coastlines and oceans, both recreationally and commercially. There are survey sites all around the Monterey Peninsula, from Asilomar to the Del Monte Beach.

    This is a year-round program in partnership with WILDCOAST. Walking the beach for science — what could be better?

    Click here to learn more.

  • The Western Monarch Count tracks the population of the beautiful and endangered Western monarch butterfly as it overwinters along the California coast. Volunteers choose sites across Monterey County (from Moss Landing to Big Sur) to scout for butterflies.

    This seasonal program goes from October - March. It is conducted in partnership with the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. If you want to help protect the iconic and gorgeous monarch butterfly, join our team!

    Click here to learn more.

  • We have two student-led community science programs. Volunteers can participate by assisting students take data on the health of our local habitats and waterways. Click each link to learn more.

    1. LiMPETS
      This program assesses the health of local rocky shore and sandy beach habitats. Students, with volunteer assistant, conduct species surveys of rocky shore animals, and they collect and take measurements on sand crabs.

    2. Watershed Guardians
      This program takes real-time data on water quality of the Carmel and Salinas Watersheds. Volunteers assist students take measurements like turbidity, temperature, depth, flow rate, and more.

Naturalists in Training

An internship for high school students

  • The Naturalists in Training is an internship for high school students. Interns hone their skills in science communication, natural history, and conservation. They use their knowledge and skills to work with Museum visitors of all ages.

    There are 2 internship tracks: a summer-only program and a school-year program. Students may choose to apply for one or both, depending on the student’s interests and availability.

    Questions? Email the Volunteer Coordinator.

  • There are 2 internship tracks: a summer-only program and a school-year program. Students may choose to apply for one or both, depending on the student’s interests and availability.

    The summer track is recommended for students with summer availability and who would like to gain professional experience in the education field.

     Summer track participants must be able to attend an all-day workshop on Saturday, May 24 (9:00 am - 3:00 pm) and must have enough availability for at least 2 weeks of summer camp (Mon-Fri from June-July, 8:30 am - 4:30 pm).

    Summer track Naturalists in Training

    • Program goes from late May – early August

    • Recommended for students who:

      • Have summer availability.

      • Are interested in working with kids and developing leadership and teamwork skills.

      • Would like to gain professional job experience in the education field.

      • Are going into grades 10 or above.

    • 1 required all-day summer camp training (Sat May 24 9 am - 3 pm)

    • Join an optional enrichment to develop leadership skills, science communication, and working with kids (Sat Jun 7 9 am - 3 pm)

    • Assist in 2 weeks of summer camp (10 shifts total, June – July)

    • Mentor kids, help plan and lead science activities, art projects, games, and more for kids of grades K-2 or grades 3-5.

    • Each NIT will be assigned to different weeks of camp between June and July.

    • Join an end-of-summer workshop and celebration (Sat August 2, 11:30 am - 1:30 pm).

    • Receive experience, mentoring, volunteer credits, and a $300 stipend (optional).

    Questions? Email our Volunteer Coordinator.

  • There are 2 internship tracks: a summer-only program and a school-year program. Students may choose to apply for one or both, depending on the student’s interests and availability.

    The school year program is recommended for students with school year weekend availability and who would like to gain experience in the environmental sciences and conservation fields. 

    Participants must be able to attend an all-day workshop in August and have enough school year availability to participate in at least 12 volunteer shifts from August - April and participate in the 4 enrichments.

    School year track Naturalists in Training

    • Program goes from August – April.

    • Recommended for students who:

      • Have school year weekend availability.

      • Are interested in science communication.

      • Would like to gain field experience in the environmental and conservation fields.

      • Are going into grades 9 or above.

    • 1 required all-day workshop on natural history and science communication (Saturday, August 16, 9:00 am - 3:00 pm).

    • Serve as a Naturalist in Training for 12 Museum volunteer shifts like Community Outreach, Science Saturdays, and other Museum Education programs.

    • Participate in 4 enrichments throughout the school year engaging in local field science and conservation projects.

      • September

      • November

      • January

      • March

    • Join an end-of-year celebration (Sat April 11 2026, 11:30 am - 1:30 pm).

    • Receive experience, mentoring, volunteer credits, and a stipend (optional).

  • For the summer program, any current high school student (going into grades 10 or above) may apply.

    For the school year program, any student going into grades 9 - 12 may apply.

    A Naturalist in Training needs to enjoy working with children and the public, have an appreciation for science and nature, and be willing to learn new things. Look at the descriptions of the summer and school year tracks to see which ones most closely match your interests and availability.

    NITs are required to follow safety safety guidelines, show up on-time to all assigned shifts, and prepared for trainings and volunteer shifts. See the descriptions of the summer and school year programs for availability requirements.

    Questions? Email the Volunteer Coordinator.

  • Applications are open! See the buttons below for both the application and reference form. Send the reference form to a professional who knows you well, like a teacher, mentor, or supervisor. Both forms are due by April 7, 2025.

    Questions? Email the Volunteer Coordinator.

Applications for both summer 2025 and school year 2025-2026 are open!

To apply, fill out the application below. In addition, send the reference form to a professional who knows you well, like a teacher, mentor, or supervisor.

Both the application form and the reference form are due by April 3, 2025.