Volunteer Opportunities March 2023

Nest Box Monitoring: Maintaining Safe Spaces

Do you want to get outside and help your local cavity nesting birds? SCVAS is currently looking for volunteers to assist with nest box monitoring responsibilities on established trails throughout Santa Clara County. Get a close up look at the most secretive part of a bird's life, and get involved in a state-wide community science project! Open locations include areas of Almaden Quicksilver, McClellan Ranch, and Ridge Winery.

Volunteers must provide their own transportation to trails and be able lift weights of up to 10 pounds overhead (for the purposes of nest box retrieval).

Contact Carolyn Knight at programs@scvas.org for more information and to get connected!


Cuesta Park with Susan Tenney

Field Trips: Bringing People to the Birds

Self-Guided Field Trip Writers

Do you have a favorite birding place that would make a great self-guided field trip? We are looking for more submissions. This task does not require any technical skills besides email, it only requires a love of your location and basic birding knowledge. We will make the maps for you, collect any bird photos you need, and even take the location photos. 

In particular, we are looking for new guides on Agnews Historic Park, Pacheco State Park, Sanborn County Park (main entrance), Rancho Cañada del Oro or any location we haven’t covered yet. 

Please contact Eve Meier at fieldtrips@scvas.org for more information. 

Required: SCVAS member


Naturalists Needed: Inspiring a Love of Nature

Whether you're a birder or really into lichen, an expert with native plants or some other taxa entirely, we're looking for naturalists to help out at an upcoming BioBlitz Saturday, March 18, 9:00AM - 11:00AM at the Kelley Park Disc Golf Course. SCVAS is working with Keep Coyote Creek Beautiful to put this event on and we're excited to invite you to join us!

Register as a docent here.


Outreach: Share the love (of birds)

SCVAS periodically hosts informational tables at community events and with other conservation organizations. Spend a couple hours of your time to help these SCVAS outreach events and share your love of birds with other people! SCVAS periodically hosts informational tables at community events and with other conservation organizations. Spend a couple hours of your time to help these SCVAS outreach events and share your love of birds with other people! Events include partnerships with Veggielution, Keep Coyote Creek Beautiful, Friends of Rengstorff House, and more!

  • Join our email group to easily get updates about these tabling and outreach events here


Nature Shop: Helping feed the birds

SCVAS is looking for reliable volunteers to help run the nature shop on an as-needed basis. Volunteers are responsible for answering basic birding and wildlife related questions for the public over the phone and in person, entering sales in the Nature Shop, filling and cleaning the feeders and bird baths, and helping with the occasional mailing.

Contact April Austin at scvas@scvas.org for further information.