By Poppy Benson, Chair of Outreach Committee
Want to do hands on field work? Share your enthusiasm for refuges with visitors? Be part of the biggest wildlife festival in the state? Eight refuges have submitted their wish lists for volunteers and they are now posted on our volunteer webpage. More projects are to come so bookmark this page.
Are you a birder? Then you know this chance to do seabird work for the Alaska Maritime Refuge on the famous Priiblof Islands will be the experience of your life. Izembek Refuge wants us back for the third year for black brant surveys. Selawik Refuge wants someone to help guide bird walks in Kotzebue in May. 
Selawik Refuge is looking for bird guides for May. Jason from Homer leading birdwalk in Kotzebue.
Visitor Center help is needed everywhere. How about Coldfoot Interagency Visitor Center for the Arctic Refuge at the base of the Brooks Range? They are looking for long term and shorter (two weeks) help. Or Alaska Peninsula in King Salmon that needs help with their visitor center and an enticing schedule of summer events. Read how much fun Barbara of Palm Beach had at King Salmon with Alaska Peninsula last year. Yukon Delta, largest waterfowl refuge in the country, is asking for visitor center help for the first time in Bethel. The refuge is all Yupik country and many of the staff are Yupik. Another life experience. All remote assignments offer housing but only some airfare from Anchorage. Check the details on the website.
Read about Gail from Fairbanks experience volunteering at the Coldfoot Interagency Visitor Center here. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is looking for both summer-long volunteers and two week volunteers.
One day or afternoon projects include three big outreach events – the Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival, Seabird Fest and the Kenai Sports and Recreation Show. Friends cosponsors with the Alaska Maritime Refuge the Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival, May 6 – 10 in Homer. It is Friends biggest project, best source of new members and 5 days of birds, beach, art and all the charm of Homer. So come on down. Volunteers are needed for two types of events with two different online signups. 1. Friends events – staffing our Outreach Table, hosting the Birder’s Coffee, and staffing Bird Trivia Night at Alice’s Champagne Palace. 2. Refuge run events – staffing bird stations, bird walks, monitoring talks and more. You can sign up for either or both Friends and refuge work. May 2 – 3 is the Kenai Sports and Recreation Show in Soldotna and June 6 – 7 is Seabird Fest in Seward. Friends are needed to help the refuges with activities and education at these events.
Other one day events vary from fencing the Kenai River for riverbank protection, building a picnic table in Homer, installing signs, creating an invasive species guide and trash cleanups planned for the Alaska Maritime Refuge site in Homer (April 18) and the Kenai Refuge (date TBD). Refuge visitor centers – Kodiak, Kenai, Yukon Delta in Bethel, Alaska Peninsula in King Salmon and the Alaska Maritime in Homer – can always use local help. If you live there, give them a call.
You can find all projects listed here including who to talk to for more information. Keep checking back though as more projects will be added. Applications are needed for most projects and you must be a member for most projects. You can join or renew here.
Volunteering on a refuge is a great opportunity to learn about and experience a refuge, meet wonderful refuge staff and community members, feel like a contributor and in most cases, get out on the land. Just do it.