Volunteering

The Channel Islands Naturalist Corps is a volunteer program jointly managed by Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary and Channel Islands National Park. Volunteers are trained to serve as naturalists on whale watching vessels in the sanctuary, lead island hikes in the park, participate at local outreach events, and conduct citizen science, including the collection of valuable photo identification of marine mammals.

How to Apply

Please note that due to high volunteer retention within the Channel Islands Naturalist Corps program, the sanctuary and park select a new cohort of volunteers and offer new training classes every two to three years.

Please contact the staff below to be added to notifications regarding the next open recruitment period. You will be asked to submit your application electronically on volunteer.gov during the open recruitment period. Due to a high volume of interest in the Channel Islands Naturalist Corps program, you are encouraged to provide as much detail as possible on your application regarding your interests and qualifications to serve as a naturalist.

For information please contact channel.islands@noaa.gov and chis_volunteer@nps.gov.