VOLUNTEER
The success of the Marine Science Center (MSC) is dependent upon volunteers who help with the day-to-day operations of the facility. In 2018, 263 volunteers donated over 20,000 hours to help care for the animals, welcome visitors, work on special projects such as marine research and exhibit maintenance, and educate the public about Volusia County’s marine environment. Volunteers are trained in specific departments of their choice, which can be a valued experience if a career in animal care or environmental education is being considered. Volunteering at the MSC can also be rewarding just by lending a hand helping to save the environment.
Volunteers can assist staff members in the following departments:
Education Department
Volunteers in the education department play a vital role helping convey the Marine Science Center’s educational and conservation message. There are many opportunities including docents, special educational programming, summer camps, animal feeding programs, special events and administrative assistance. Education job description PDF.
Sea Turtle Hospital
The Turtle Hospital cares for a high volume of sick or injured sea turtles, gopher tortoises and other reptiles. Due to the critical nature of these endangered species, volunteers are carefully trained to help with the maintenance of the animal exhibits and day-to-day operations necessary to make the hospital run smoothly. Hard work in this department is rewarded every time a sea turtle, gopher tortoise or freshwater turtle is rehabilitated and returned to the wild. Sea Turtle Hospital job description PDF.
Mary Keller Seabird Rehabilitation Center
Volunteers in the Seabird Hospital help care for the wide variety of birds that enter the hospital for rehabilitation as well as resident birds on exhibit. Volunteers are trained to help maintain the exhibits and hospital. The work is hard, but rewarding, when a rehabilitated bird flies away. Seabird Rehabilitation Center job description PDF.
Aquarium and Life Support Department
Caring for the animals on exhibit and in rehabilitation is dependent on a number of important duties that trained volunteers assist with. These duties include testing water quality, food preparation, feeding animals, and aquarium and life support maintenance. Volunteering with the Aquarium Department is a great way to gain experience in the aquarium and animal husbandry field. Aquarium and Life Support job description PDF.
Guest Services
Volunteering in the Guest Services Department offers an excellent opportunity to provide memorable guest interactions. Whether you are assisting customers with purchases or displaying merchandise, each MSC Guest Services team member is a representative of the County of Volusia. We help create experiences that inspire our visitors while furthering our county's conservation mission. Guest Services job description PDF.
Maintenance Department and Native Plant Gardener
This department assists with facility work for the Marine Science Center across a wide variety of tasks related to general maintenance and gardening.
Volunteering as a native plant gardener offer opportunities to gain experience in general gardening activities, plant identification, and disease preventation. Volunteers will work closely with the garden coordinator to cultivate ideal gardening locations and select appropriate plants. Maintenance and Native Plant job descriptions PDF
Interested in becoming a volunteer?
To become a MSC volunteer, please click the application link below to register by filling out the volunteer application. Please use Google Chrome, as this is the browser that works best. The volunteer coordinator will review the application and choose the appropriate department considering skills and experience, applicant’s availability, and department openings. This process may take up to two weeks. Once placed into the volunteer program, new volunteers will then attend a volunteer orientation. The volunteer coordinator will provide the available orientation dates.
During this process, if you have any questions, please email the volunteer coordinator at mscvolunteer@volusia.org or call 386-304-5545 ext. 21287.
Please visit the Volunteer Volusia Website if you are interested in volunteering for other positions within Environmental Management.
MSC Job Opportunities
Thank you for your interest to work at the Marine Science Center. The MSC is a service of the County of Volusia and has a combination of full-time and part-time positions that help support our mission and values of excellent sea turtle and seabird rehabilitation, as well as environmental education.
All available job posting will be posted on the County of Volusia Human Resources Website.