SIERRA STREAMS
Watershed Monitoring, Research, and Restoration
A key to Sierra Streams Institute’s success in accomplishing its mission has been our dedicated volunteer team. Volunteers monitor streams for water quality, process samples in our two in-house labs, enter data, and help with outreach. Detailed volunteer descriptions and the link to the sign up form are below. In general, positions can be flexible depending on your schedule. We are always looking for more volunteers! While we welcome those with scientific backgrounds, no experience is necessary for any of our volunteer positions. All volunteers will receive training for their positions.
We are partnering with BriarPatch Coop through their new PatchWorks program to increase community engagement in Nevada County. By volunteering with SSI through the program, you will get discounts on your groceries at BriarPatch! More information on the program can be found here.
Water quality monitoring happens during a two-week period every January, April, July, and October. We currently monitor 10 sites on Deer Creek and 10 sites on the Bear River, and are always in need of committed monthly volunteers and substitute monitors. Each site is monitored by a pair of volunteers who go to the same site together every month. Water quality monitoring takes anywhere from 1-3 hours depending on the distance to the site and generally entails:
Creek surveys happen throughout the months of June and October. We monitor sites across the full lengths of Deer Creek and Bear River, collecting samples of algae, organic matter , benthic macroinvertebrates (BMI) and habitat data. There is always plenty of availability for volunteers to join us. A creek survey usually takes between 2 – 5 hours depending of data being collected and drive to and from the site. A creek survey generally entails:
Opportunities to volunteer with our Forestry projects include both field work and computer work.
In the field, we would love some help collecting post-treatment data with SSI Forestry Staff. This includes taking pictures at monitoring plots, as well as collecting forest measurements such as species identification, diameter measurement, trees per acre, fuels transects, seedling survivability, dendrology, and post-fire (Rx and wildfire) monitoring. We will also have days scheduled for Rx Broadcast burning and community fuels/invasive treatment days (primarily in the Jones Bar area). The ability to hike and walk in the forest on uneven ground is required. Experience is a plus, but we hope to teach out in the field as well as learn from your experiences! These field volunteer opportunities will likely require at least a 4-hour commitment at a time. For data collection, we will prefer somewhat regular (weekly or bi-weekly) weekdays. The community Rx Broadcast burns and fuels days will be one-offs and we will reach out as we schedule them (weekdays and weekends).
In the office, we would greatly appreciate assistance with data management of the above measurements. This involves transferring data sheets into Excel, creating charts and graphics, analyzing tree cores, etc. This would be volunteering at our office during the workdays at your convenience. This is a great way to gain experience in seeing the numbers that come from hours of in-the-field surveying, and will help our community to make sense of the numbers.
The bug lab work entails using a microscope to count and sort aquatic insects from debris. The lab is open to new volunteers the first Wednesday of each month 9am to 2pm (October – May). We are looking for regular and committed volunteers to learn how to ID bugs to Genus and species.
If you are interested in learning more, please contact the BMI lab manager at bugs@sierrastreamsinstitute.org.
If you are a high school or college student who is interested in working in the BMI lab, please see our internship page here for more information.
We rely on our volunteers to enter the data we collect in the field and the labs into our database. Data entry is by far our most flexible volunteer opportunity and can be done any day or time at the volunteer’s convenience, so long as you coordinate with the lab manager beforehand. Data entry entails:
Outreach volunteers assist us in event planning and creating outreach materials for social media, our newsletter, and for print. We are looking for a small cohort of folks interested in facilitating meaningful science experiences to the public on a regular basis.
We occasionally have other volunteer needs. These opportunities will be posted on our website and social media as they occur.
If you have something to add to Sierra Streams that does not fit into any of our established volunteer categories, please let us know on the volunteer sign-up form and we will do our best to find a volunteer position that suits you!
