Volunteering In Marin: Be a Watcher

There are plenty of opportunities to stand around and do something in Marin— from counting to photographing to measuring. The following organizations are looking for volunteer observers to document all kinds of data.

Weather Watching With all the talk about an especially wet El Niño year, volunteers are encouraged to join the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network (CoCoRaHS). The data collected helps form the official weather alerts and forecasts from the National Weather Service. The activity has school project potential for young ones.

Photo by Juoko Van Der Kruijssen

Otter Spotting Become a citizen scientist and collect data, including photos and video that will provide insight into otters’ range, habitats, behavior and reproduction. Volunteer observers report on river otters in neighborhood streams, rivers and bays; the information collected appears on an ArcGIS map that is updated quarterly. riverotterecology.org

Photo by Jessica Weinberg-McClosky

Raptor Counting Join other volunteer hawk counters as they identity and log up to 19 species of raptor every autumn. All the activities take place in the Marin Headlands and help the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy look for trends in hawk populations over time. Hawk watchers are recruited every spring, with trainings beginning in July.