Bay Area–wide
Celebrate Bay Day
The San Francisco Bay gets, and mightily deserves, its own day of celebration on October 7, preceded by a month of sprucing it up—planting natives, cleaning beaches, and discovering wildlife—in every county touching its shores. Check BayDay.org/faq to get involved and connect with the water body that connects us.
Shorebird counting
Learn about our feathered familiars and help track their populations with the Pacific Flyway Shorebird Survey this fall. Led by Point Blue Conservation Science, volunteers monitor birds around the Bay Area, collecting data that contributes to understanding shorebirds from Argentina to Alaska. Check the volunteer opportunities at PointBlue.org.
Got fruit?
Unable to give away or eat all the fruit your yard trees are producing? There’s a local nonprofit for that. Village Harvest helps you donate your fruit, or join the group’s teams of volunteers who harvest urban fruit for donation. VillageHarvest.org
South Bay
Clean creeks in Santa Clara
Volunteers are working to keep creeks in the Santa Clara Valley watershed clean and hospitable to chinook salmon with the Team 222 Program: two hours on the second Saturday of every other month. Check out the programs at SBCleanCreeks.com.
Treasure Island
Sailing near Treasure Island
If you’re a sailor who wants to share your knowledge and passion for the water or you’re still a sailing-curious newbie, the Treasure Island Sailing Center depends on volunteers to make its programming accessible to people of all financial means and physical abilities. Care for boats, support regattas, and, if qualified, teach sailing basics. TISailing.org
From home
Help Calbug from home
In just five minutes, you can help catalog California insects from your home computer. Calbug continues to digitize the state’s eight major terrestrial arthropod collections, including those at the UC Berkeley Essig Museum and the California Academy of Sciences. Search online for “Notes from Nature – Calbug” and you’ll be contributing within minutes; bug expertise not required.
North Bay
Educating about elephant seals
Do you love Point Reyes National Seashore? You can spend a little bit of your winter there—hanging out near the marine mammal wildlife that has hauled itself ashore—by becoming a Winter Wildlife Docent. Wildlife docents educate visitors about the elephant seals, harbor seals, and more. Want to join? Search for ‘Winter Wildlife Docent’ on volunteer.gov for more information and application instructions. Apply by November 5, 2023.
Statewide
Find your people
Looking for folks to help your organization, or seeking more ways to get involved and contribute? Explore the state’s robust CaliforniaVolunteers.ca.gov website, and search “climate” for an up-to-date list of environment-related ideas and needs.
