About Austin Youth River Watch: Volunteer Details

There are many ways to volunteer for Austin Youth River Watch, both in this 2018-2019 academic year, and beyond. Along with regular water quality monitoring, River Watchers work with community partners on several restoration projects and outreach events throughout the year that volunteers can help with. These are things like creek clean-ups, planting native riparian species, mulching, invasive species removal, outreach activities, and building rain gardens. We also often need additional support with advocacy for issues related to our youth and the environment, assistance at our EcoHouse with administrative duties, and of course fundraising. We are a small staff with a significant reach and impact and would love to hear from you. Here are some volunteer opportunities we have available now:

Weekly Program Volunteers or Interns

During the school year, our ongoing program volunteers accompany one of our student crews once a week, joining them for water quality testing or ecological service projects, and dinner and down time at our River Watch EcoHouse in Hornsby Bend afterwards. Most of our crews include around 10 kids. You will accompany your student crew one day a week, which will remain the same day throughout your commitment. There may also be opportunities to accompany the River Watchers on camping and canoeing adventures on weekends. Experience in content areas (water quality, aquatic life, etc) not required, but an appreciation for them are!

Logistics:
-Time frame, roughly 3:30 pm to 7:00 pm.
-Pick a day of the week, Monday – Thursday.
-Once you’ve got a day, your day will remain the same all semester.

You will be:
-Helping program staff by being additional supervision for the kids.
-An additional adult role model who is a consistent, dependable part of their life for the semester. You’ll get to know that group of kids very well.

Qualifications:
-Commitment to show up weekly.
-Adeptness or willingness to work with teenagers.
-Willingness to be outdoors. Experience in content areas (water chemistry, aquatic life, riparian restoration, etc.) is appreciated but not required.

If you’re interested:
(1) Email Amelia DeVivo, Program Director, at amelia@riverwatchers.org with your resume and a brief statement of interest.

(2) Include which weekday(s) you are available.

Volunteers have said to us that this most rewarding volunteer experience they’ve ever had!

There will be more projects and events this year and beyond! Stay in touch via social media, or contact us at (512) 708-9115 or riverwatcher@riverwatchers.org, and let us know that you’re interested in volunteering at one of these events or if you’d like to sign up for our email newsletter!