Volunteer Corps

Year-Round Opportunities:

• Conservation Corps - led by our experienced Naturalists, help us remove invasive plants and protect native plants. Learn skills essential for managing your property and preserving New York's natural beauty. Check our calendar here for the next Conservation Corps Day.
• Trail Assessment - regularly walk trails and manually clear sticks and small limbs from paths, report trail obstructions to be cleared by staff, report maintenance issues (trail signs, condition of footbridges, etc), and record wildlife sightings.
• Weekly/Monthly Cleanup in Museum - assist Westmoreland staff with general housekeeping of the museum by sweeping and vacuuming floors, removing dust and cobwebs, cleaning windows and display glass, etc.

Seasonal Opportunities:

• Care/Maintenance of Wildlife Gardens - assist Westmoreland staff with planting, seeding, weeding, and maintaining fences around the various gardens.
• Invasive Species Control - assist Westmoreland staff with mechanical removal (pulling, cutting) of invasive vegetation like barberry, privet, winged-euonymus, and oriental bittersweet after proper training/guidance from the sanctuary staff.
• Bluebird House Monitoring - assist Westmoreland staff with monitoring the nesting activity taking place in the various nesting boxes around the property. Requires weekly/bi-weekly visits to each nesting box to check for nests, eggs, and young of various species of birds throughout the breeding season (typically mid-April to mid-July).
• Turtle Monitoring - assist Westmoreland staff with monitoring the water and land turtle populations around the property. Requires weekly (2-3x per week if possible) visits to each area to check for individual specimens, mark specimens, and records data. (typically Mid April to September)

Volunteer tasks may be carried out by an individual, group, or family depending on the specific task. More than one individual, group, or family may fulfill the same task if deemed necessary by the staff of Westmoreland Sanctuary.