Volunteer as a Trail Blazer at Allens Pond
Year-Round Volunteer Opportunity
Help sanctuary staff, interns, and fellow volunteers blaze new trails and construct trail features along 9 miles of trails. Work is performed outdoors and may be physically demanding, at times, but is rewarding and instrumental in preserving the ecological integrity of areas in and around the sanctuary.
Examples of projects include trail maintenance, boardwalk construction, removing invasive plants, burning brush piles, or planting native plants. Volunteers will gain new skills, connect with neighbors and connect with nature.
- No experience of any kind is necessary.
- We will provide all of the tools, training, and materials needed.
To Sign Up
Please complete our Volunteer Interest Form so we can match you with opportunities that fit your schedule! If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact us by email or by calling 508-636-2437.
Background
From Oil Spill to New Trails
On April 27, 2003, Bouchard Transportation Company’s Barge 120 (B-120) grounded on a shoal soon after entering the western approach to Buzzards Bay, creating a 12-foot rupture in its hull and spilling an estimated 98,000 gallons of No. 6 oil. In the days and weeks that followed the spill, winds and currents drove the oil ashore, oiling approximately 100 miles of shoreline in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, including rocky and cobble shores, tidal marshes, and sand beaches.
Allens Pond received $120,000 to compensate for the loss of recreational use on sanctuary land/beach. Funds were provided from the natural resource damage settlement for the 2003 Buzzards Bay oil spill to restore injured natural resources and lost public uses.
We decided to use these funds to improve the sanctuary's trails, but we knew we'd need lots of help from volunteers to get the job done. That's how the Trail Blazers volunteer program was born!