Become a Volunteer!
What do volunteers do?
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Island Greeters - on weekends and holidays, volunteers work for 1/2 or whole day on the island greeting visitors, giving informational tours, and keeping the island safe and clean
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Island Assistants - for special events, volunteers are on the island to assist with group visits, for example day trips from local schools where students are taught about the island environment and are able to complete a variety of scientific experiments.
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Island Work Days - days when volunteers assist U.S. Fish & Wildlife staff with upkeep of Outer Island facilities. Examples of work day activities include opening day preparations (cleaning lab, lab equipment and clearing pathways, setting up pavilion furniture, hauling in supplies), regular maintenance of facilities and pathways, and maintaining gardens (planting native plants and removing invasives), for example.
Volunteer Scheduling and Duties
Two volunteers at a time will be stationed on the island and new volunteers will be teamed with an experienced volunteer for their first two assignments
Volunteers can use Signup Genius to schedule your volunteer time on Outer Island.
To volunteer on Outer Island, candidates must complete the mandatory U.S. Fish & Wildlife annual volunteer training, and sign the U.S. Fish & Wildlife waiver. Training is offered in-person before the opening of Outer Island for the season, or via live online training, or by watching the online training videos.
2025 Volunteer Training
In-person: Saturday, May 3rd, 9am-11am at Branford Community House
45 Church Street, Branford
To register: Call USFW Ranger Shaun Roche at 860-399-2513, ext. 8134 or email shaun_roche@fws.gov
On-demand: Returning volunteers can access the on-demand Refresher Training videos to complete the mandatory USFW training.
