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!
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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.
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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.
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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?
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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!
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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.
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.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.
This program for high school students develops valuable skills by leading engaging science activities for children. Students participate in hands-on field work for conservation projects, receive a stipend, and benefit from personalized mentoring throughout the internship period.
Naturalists in Training Internship
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The Naturalists in Training internship is a year-long program for high school students.
Interns participate in training on natural history, conservation, science education, and use their knowledge and skills to work with museum visitors.
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Participate in 2 required all-day training workshops.
Join ongoing training and workshops throughout the summer and school year.
Obtain field experience with local community science programs.
Assist in one week of summer camp by helping to plan and lead science activities, art projects, games and more for one week of camp. Each NIT will be assigned to a different week.
Serve as a Naturalist in Training for 5 Museum shifts throughout the school year, like with Science Saturdays, outreach, and events.
Receive training from Museum educators plus mentoring, volunteer credits, and a stipend.
Gain new skills and experiences to add to a resume or college applications.
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Any current high school student (going into 9th-12th grade) 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.
NITs are required to show up on-time, follow safety guidelines, and prepared for trainings and volunteer shifts.
NITs must be available for:
— Two all-day trainings in late May/early June.
— At least 1 week of summer camp (June - July).
— Scheduled weekend volunteer shifts and enrichments throughout the school year (September - April).
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Complete the application (button left) to apply or complete the form (button left) to be notified when applications are open for next year.
The application consists of 2 parts: a form for the applicant to to fill out, and a reference form to be filled out by a teacher or mentor who knows the applicant well.
Applications for the 2024 - 2025 school year are now closed.
We will open applications for the 2025-2026 internship in January 2025. If you would like to be alerted as soon as applications are open, leave your contact information using the form.