NORTH BAY

Kid rockers

If you’ve got time to spare on weekdays, how about going back to school? Outside, that is. Volunteer with LandPaths’ In Our Own Backyard program, which immerses elementary-school-age kids in Sonoma County nature, fostering a love for the land, or with the Inspired Forward program, geared toward teens and young adults, which teaches ecological literacy, stewardship, leadership, and resilience. A good fit for retired teachers or for college students seeking environmental education experience. bit.ly/landpaths-volunteer

EAST BAY

Diablo digs

In the Chochenyo language, Mount Diablo is ṭuuštak, meaning “the place of the day,” and Indigenous people throughout the region have been taking care of it for thousands of years. You can be part of that through line by joining the Diablo Restoration Team (DiRT), which stewards land under Save Mount Diablo’s care. Activities are year-round and may include watering, planting, mulching, creek cleanups, and more. bit.ly/diablodirt

Caterpillars of the community

After this past year’s dismayingly low western monarch count, here’s one way to help. Right across from the San Leandro BART station, you can join the monthly native garden maintenance party for the San Leandro Butterfly Garden from 10 a.m. till noon on the first Saturday of each month. Cultivate monarch favorites like showy or narrowleaf milkweed, bush monkey flower, coffeeberry, and coyote mint. Hand hoes provided; bring gloves or pruners if you can. bit.ly/san-leandro-butterflies 

Monarch caterpillar
(Armin Kübelbeck, CC-BY-SA, Wikimedia Commons)
SAN FRANCISCO

Be the G.O.A.T.

Ba-a-ah, humbug. Are you in need of some nonhuman interaction? City Grazing, “San Francisco’s nonprofit goat-powered landscaping company,” needs volunteers aged 18 and up daily to feed, clean up after, and socialize its Bayview-based herd (meaning, we assume, gaze affectionately into their weird-shaped eyes). No animal husbandry experience is required; training is provided. Just remember that goats have no manners. CityGrazing.org/volunteer

SOUTH BAY

Growing power

Amid all the wealth of Silicon Valley, many still go hungry. Valley Verde is tackling food insecurity through its urban agriculture programs. At Sow & Grow events, on the second Saturday of each month, the San Jose–based nonprofit combines workshops on food, gardening, or health with volunteer work. Tasks include sowing and transplanting seeds, composting, building, and making art. Volunteers may also drop in on Fridays. Register: ValleyVerde.org

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BAY AREA–WIDE

Cat people

Bay Area Puma Project is seeking volunteers to trek out to camera traps and retrieve their data cards all over the Bay Area, helping keep tabs on and study our local mountain lions and bobcats. There are ways to help remotely, too: processing photos and videos, outreach, social media, and more. Thankfully, you can leave the cat poop to the professionals (see “Scat Sleuth,” in this issue).
BAPP.org/get-involved

Puma in camera trap
(Felidae Conservation Fund)
FROM ANYWHERE

Bloomsdays

Phenology—the study of nature’s seasonal calendar—is more essential than ever as climate change throws off sprouts, blooms, migrations, and mating seasons. Connect with the nature around you this spring, and then enter your observations in the National Phenology Network via the Nature’s Notebook app. You can also join specific projects, like “Nectar Connectors,” which tracks the flowering of specific monarch food plants. usanpn.org/nn