Volunteers

Everybody wants to work with dolphins. Right? Well actually, most people don’t once they understand what our work involves on a day-to-day basis.

Lots of people think they want to help with dolphin research, but few want to undergo the detailed training (which may not match their interests) to meet our needs. And if they don’t actually enjoy the work, our experience is that volunteers don’t show up consistently. In short, biological research often is not a good match for people who just “like” dolphins.

Having said that, we do get consistent help from a small group of trained, long-term volunteers. They are a tremendous asset to the SDRP. They spend long hours on boats in the summer heat and winter cold, helping with dolphin surveys, dolphin prey studies, and other work. Others are on call (and consistently available) if we suddenly need help with a dolphin rescue.

So, do you want to volunteer? If so, and if you are at least 18 years old, send an email to info@sarasotadolphin.org with the subject “Volunteer.” Please include in your message a brief summary of any specific skills (e.g., boating, computer [which programs/applications], photographic [which equipment], laboratory [which equipment]) or experiences you offer that might be of value to the SDRP research team. Briefly indicate what you hope to get out of the experience. Please include the amount of time you can commit per week, over what time frame (months).

This information will allow the SDRP volunteer coordinator to match you to projects in need of volunteers. If your career interests (e.g., college, graduate degree) are motivating your desire to volunteer, please consider applying for an internship.

Sorry to say, we have no resources to support volunteers, and to be candid, there are only a small number of positions, which rarely become available. Should nothing be available when you contact us, we can keep your information on file in case future needs arise.

back to top ↑