Bioblitz participants at Kelley Park
Bioblitz: Help document nature
Whether you’re an experienced birder or a mushroom superfan, naturalists of all stripes and levels of experience are welcome to join our documentation efforts at a bioblitz. We will be using iNaturalist to document our observations. Knowledge about our local plants and animals are helpful, but not required.
Volunteer hours are available to docents and participants who document ten or more observations.
Barn Owls: Teresa Cheng
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, and Ridge Winery. Students interested in monitoring can inquire about schoolyard boxes.
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!
SOCIAL MEDIA INTERNS: BIRDS ARE REAL
SCVAS is recruiting students with a passion for the environment and an interest in social media to assist in content creation across SCVAS’s social media platforms. We are looking for content on local conservation and environmental issues, informative accounts of local species and habitat. Interns will attend a biweekly zoom meeting, attend at least two SCVAS events each month, and will be responsible for postings to SCVAS’s Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, and other platforms.
Interested students can apply by sending a social media portfolio and a one-minute video on a local environmental issue, or local species of wildlife they are passionate about, to Carolyn Knight at programs@scvas.org. Further details here.
Burrowing Owl: Sunny Mar
Habitat Restoration: Supporting Burrowing Owls
Get your hands dirty and help some amazing birds! Join biologists for a morning work day removing invasive plants from sensitive nesting habitat. We will provide gloves (although you are welcome to bring your own), hand tools and will give an educational presentation on burrowing owls and the weeding project. Volunteers MUST be 18 or older.
April 13
May 4
Due to the sensitivity of Burrowing Owls to disturbance, the location of the work site is only shared with participants. Contact Carolyn Knight at programs@scvas.org with interest.
Egret Office Hours: A Curious Colony
Are you a bird lover who loves to meet new people? Join the Egret Office Hours team to share the love of the egrets and herons of Shorebird Way in Mountain View. Through the breeding season, volunteers are available during lunch on select Wednesday to show the nests and hatchlings of the breeding colony to the public. In addition to sharing the wonderful part of the birds’ life cycle with people, this is also an opportunity to discuss local conservation efforts, the importance of protecting breeding habitat, and introduce people to the joy of birding!
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.