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Volunteer Projects and Activities

 

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Saugatuck Forest Lands, Dorr's Mill Fish Passage Project © Sally Harold / TNC

Saugatuck Forest Lands, Dorr's Mill Fish Passage Project. Photo © Sally Harold/TNC

For More Information

Please contact Lia Mastropolo at lmastropolo@tnc.org or (203) 226-4991 Ext. 203.

Calendar of volunteer workdays and special events.

Ongoing Volunteer Opportunities at Devil’s Den Preserve

Trail Adopters: This is a great opportunity for regular visitors to the Den, or for those who can commit to visiting the preserve at least once a season. Volunteers walk the trails and report on their condition, with an eye to maintenance issues or the presence of invasive plant species. Volunteers are also encouraged to carry out any basic trail maintenance such as re-painting trail blazes or cutting back overgrowth. Equipment and supplies can be provided.

Workday Volunteers: Scheduled workdays can cover a wide range of activities and interests, including basic trail maintenance, removal of invasive plant species and clean-ups of local beaches. For a list of work days and special events, see our calendar.

Hike Guides: Volunteers can also help our partner organization, the New Canaan Nature Center, with their Nature Education Initiative at Devil’s Den program. Volunteer interpreters lead a variety of programs at The Den and throughout the Saugatuck Forest Lands including School Programs, Adult Hikes, Family Nature Walks and specialty programs such as bird walks. For more information, contact Linda Glowienka, NCNC Volunteer Coordinator, Tel: 203-966-9577 ext. 203.

Ongoing Volunteer Opportunities in the Saugatuck Forest Lands

Amphibian Monitors: The Saugatuck Watershed Amphibian Monitoring Project, or SWAMP, is a program designed to give local citizens the opportunity to help scientists conserve amphibians in the watershed. With as little as two hours per month volunteers can collect essential information to protect frogs, toads and salamanders.

Monitoring Fish Migration: The Saugatuck River Watershed Partnership is working to open up fish passage to anadromous fish that return to freshwater to spawn. In the spring of 2008 we will have two fish counters at dams equipped with fish bypasses and two traps set to monitor fish in the streams. Volunteers are needed to help check fish traps and monitor the counters. Ideally, volunteers should have access to a digital camera so fish can be photographed for identification.

Horseshoe Crab Survey: Beach maintenance practices may threaten the survival of eggs laid in the sand during early summer full moons. For the past three years, the Saugatuck River Watershed Partnership has helped to coordinate volunteers to assist Sacred Heart University Professor Dr. Jennifer Mattei with her study of Horseshoe Crabs in Long Island Sound. Female horseshoe crabs come up on the beaches to lay their eggs in May and June. A calendar for volunteer tagging/monitoring forays will be created in April.