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Volunteer Opportunities


Citizen scientists learning chemical analysis
The best way to learn about Kwiaht and the San Juan Islands is to come work with us! We offer volunteer opportunities on an individual basis, through our local community Citizen Science teams, and as part of several ongoing monitoring programs. Technical training is an integral part of being a Kwiaht volunteer, whether it involves identifying local plants and animals, or using scientific instruments to make measurements in the field or the laboratory. Find out more about volunteer opportunities by clicking on the following options:

Help achieve sustainable management of native camas species (Camassia leichtlinii and C. quamash) as food crops in the San Juan Archipelago.  We maintain a research collection of diverse camas for restoration work and research and are looking for gardeners to trial camas varieties.

  • Islands Plant Diversity Bank

The Islands Plant Diversity Bank is our growing collection of locally sourced native plants that can be used in restoration or research.  Join us in collecting and propagating local native seed, and working on native re-vegetation projects.

  • Rare plant monitoring and surveys

Join us to monitor locally rare plant species in Moran State Park, Patos Island, and other public conservancy lands, andsearch for rare plants in unstudied woodlands, wetlands and meadows.

  • Bat maternity colony surveys

Many bats make their maternity colonies in attics and barns.  Help us locate and protect these important native mammals and the historic buildings in which they may live.

  • Amphibian Watch

Help monitor rare salamanders, frogs and newts in lakes and ponds near your home.  Learn to identify eggs and tadpoles, and how to sign and protect newt and turtle crossings on our roads.

  • Seabird and waterfowl surveys

Be part of our growing network of coastal “birders” that monitor diversity, abundance, and nesting along critical parts of the islands’ shorelines such as Iceberg Point and Fisherman Bay on Lopez Island. 

  • Cutthroat stream monitoring

Learn to find and identify threatened coastal cutthroat trout in island streams, monitor their abundance, and work with local landowners on stream restoration.

Workshops and volunteering: As an adult living in the San Juan Islands, your best opportunity for learning more science and more about the islands is becoming one of our citizen-scientist volunteers!  Volunteering involves specialized training and supervised fieldwork and laboratory experience.  Current volunteers are trained in fields ranging from biological oceanography and plankton zoology to fish biology and terrestrial botany, not to mention environmental chemistry and hydrology.  In addition to volunteer programs on nearshore salmon ecology and salmon streams, Kwiáht has programs involving inventories of native plants and plant propagation that reward long-term commitment with ongoing botanical training.  Kwiáht also offers occasional technical workshops for the general public in fields such as local native plant identification, inter-tidal ecology and water quality: click here for our current events calendar!