Volunteer

Share your passion for wildlife by assisting the Center for Wild Bird Rehabilitation with daily animal care.  Duties include but are not limited to cleaning enclosures, feeding resident animals, and interacting with visitors.

Note:  This position is for exhibit animal care only.  All rehabilitation patients are cared for by VINS staff.

Requirements:  Animal care is physically demanding and requires the ability to stand for long periods with frequent bending and crouching.

Commitment:  Requires a weekly commitment of 4 hours, year-round.

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Baby birds require a tremendous amount of care, sometimes needing to be fed every half-hour all day long!  Help VINS' Center for Wild Bird Rehabilitation care for hundreds of orphaned or abandoned birds this summer.

Baby bird feeder volunteers care for patients from 8 AM - 8 PM every day of the week from May to August.  The day is split into three shifts 8 AM- 12 PM, 12 - 4 PM, and 4 - 8 PM.

Open to youth ages 10 to 17 with an adult mentor alongside them during all shifts.  Adults are also welcome to participate in this program on their own.

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Requirements:  In the height of summer there is a very high volume of baby birds needing care.  Baby bird feeding requires the ability to stand and crouch frequently.  It is not suitable for adults or children who become easily overwhelmed.  Baby bird feeders must also have the dexterity to hold and use tweezers and small syringes properly for feedings.

There will be a mandatory virtual training via Zoom for all baby bird feeder volunteers on Sunday Apr 27, 2025, 1-3 pm.

Commitment:  Requires a weekly commitment of 4 hours from May - August (up to 2 scheduled absences allowed).  Adult mentors should plan to cover for the child during the end of the school year and if the child is away at a summer camp.

Can’t make a weekly commitment to volunteer at VINS? This position is the perfect way for you to share your love and concern for wildlife by assisting with rescue and transport of birds that need rehabilitation.

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Commitment:  As needed.  Transportation times will vary, depending on the location of a bird rescue.

Requirements:

• Reliable vehicle
• Willing to drive your own vehicle and provide fuel
• Travel round trip to VINS from your area or travel from VINS to bird and return
• 18 or over
• Willing to sign off on a Volunteer Acknowledgement of Risk

Transports generally occur within Vermont state borders or Grafton County, NH

Note: Gas mileage is not reimbursed by VINS.

Availability: Next training for new volunteers will be in January 2026

Assist in maintaining the VINS Nature Center on weekday afternoons during the summer by weeding and tending flower gardens and/or removing trash, picking up litter, and checking facilities.

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The Nature Camp Leaders-in-Training program involves teens in our camp program by offering the opportunity to work closely with children, peers, and adults in a fun, recreational setting while providing experiences for participants to develop their leadership skills. Open to youth ages 14 - 17.

For more information and to apply visit Leaders-in-Training.

Share your passion for the natural world by engaging visitors to the VINS Nature Center. Docents are most active from May through October and are trained to interpret our Forest Canopy Walk, raptor exhibits, and trails using educational props. After a year of service, Nature Center Docents may also be trained to work with live animals.

Commitment: 4-hour shift each month May-October. Training will be held on April 14, 2025 at 5 PM at the VINS Nature Center.

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Are you interested in participating in self-driven community science? Here are several projects that do not require a VINS volunteer application: Monarch Watch, Hawk Watch, American Kestrel Research Project, and Winter Raptor Ecology Project.