Volunteer at WWCC
Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center volunteers worked nearly 40,000 hours in 2023, and we could use your help too.
At WWCC, we love our volunteers. If you are at least 16 years old, check out our volunteer opportunities below!
What do you get for being a part of the WWCC team?
At The Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center, you get to be part of a diverse group of people who share one core value: the desire to help wildlife. We work with thousands of animals and hundreds of unique species each year, so no two days are ever the same! As a WWCC volunteer, you get to help care for these animals from the the time they come in the door, until the moment they are released.
What do we look for in a volunteer?
An ideal volunteer at WWCC will have the following traits:
What to know before signing up to volunteer:
WWCC is not a petting zoo or shelter. We care for wildlife that will hopefully be returned to a safe location as soon they are able. The animal’s survival depends upon them not becoming imprinted by/or attached to the humans caring for them.
It is not glamourous. We are a wildlife hospital. Therefore, many of our tasks revolve around the daily care and maintenance of the facility, which can often be dirty, mucky, and slippery.
It is a commitment. Volunteers need to be willing to commit to a four-hour shift once a week for a minimum of six months. While our requirement is that volunteers only commit for six months, we are more likely to accept your application if you're in it for the long run!
It is emotional, but rewarding. We diligently work towards the rehabilitation and release of injured or sick wildlife. Despite our best efforts, there are times when an animal doesn’t survive. Throughout the course of your volunteer journey, you will experience many cases where an animal doesn't make it through care, but also many cases when they do! You must be able to recognize that working in wildlife rehab can be an emotional rollercoaster. However, at the end of the day, getting to hold a cage door open for a rehabilitated bird going back to the wild is a special feeling, and that is what we always strive for.
At WWCC, we love our volunteers. If you are at least 16 years old, check out our volunteer opportunities below!
What do you get for being a part of the WWCC team?
At The Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center, you get to be part of a diverse group of people who share one core value: the desire to help wildlife. We work with thousands of animals and hundreds of unique species each year, so no two days are ever the same! As a WWCC volunteer, you get to help care for these animals from the the time they come in the door, until the moment they are released.
What do we look for in a volunteer?
An ideal volunteer at WWCC will have the following traits:
- The ability to commit to at least one four-hour shift at the same time each week for a minimum of six months
- Excellent time management skills
- The ability to follow directions from WWCC staff or any of our regulating agencies, which include:
- The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFW)
- The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW)
- The California Veterinary Medical Board (CVMB)
- The ability to ask questions if a task or procedure is unclear
- Excellent collaboration and communication skills
- The ability to adapt and to keep a level head when a situation may be stressful or sad
- Willingness to spend many hours at a time performing basic but essential husbandry tasks (if applying to volunteer in Animal Care)
What to know before signing up to volunteer:
WWCC is not a petting zoo or shelter. We care for wildlife that will hopefully be returned to a safe location as soon they are able. The animal’s survival depends upon them not becoming imprinted by/or attached to the humans caring for them.
It is not glamourous. We are a wildlife hospital. Therefore, many of our tasks revolve around the daily care and maintenance of the facility, which can often be dirty, mucky, and slippery.
It is a commitment. Volunteers need to be willing to commit to a four-hour shift once a week for a minimum of six months. While our requirement is that volunteers only commit for six months, we are more likely to accept your application if you're in it for the long run!
It is emotional, but rewarding. We diligently work towards the rehabilitation and release of injured or sick wildlife. Despite our best efforts, there are times when an animal doesn’t survive. Throughout the course of your volunteer journey, you will experience many cases where an animal doesn't make it through care, but also many cases when they do! You must be able to recognize that working in wildlife rehab can be an emotional rollercoaster. However, at the end of the day, getting to hold a cage door open for a rehabilitated bird going back to the wild is a special feeling, and that is what we always strive for.
Interested in volunteering? Apply below!
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Interested in Animal Care?
WWCC Animal Care volunteers help to maintain our patients' wellbeing. This includes daily cleaning tasks such as laundry and washing dishes, as well as all other essentials of wildlife husbandry, such as preparing diets and assisting our medical staff with different procedures. Animal Care volunteers also assist with releasing healthy patients back to the wild when they're ready to go home! |
Interested in Admin?
Our admin volunteers are the first at WWCC to greet a new patient. These volunteers work with members of the public to make sure all intake data about an animal is accurate to ensure the animal does the best in care! These volunteers also work to enter the large amounts of data we accumulate while caring for a patient into online databases. If you'd like to help out at WWCC, but don't want to be directly around animals, this is the position for you! |
Looking to complete an internship/externship for school?
If you are currently working toward an RVT, Vet Assistant, Veterinary Medicine, or related biological sciences degree and would like to fulfill credit hours at WWCC, click below! If you are interested in volunteering with our medical staff but aren't involved in a related program, we encourage you to apply for the more generalized "Animal Care" position above. |