Become a Volunteer

Volunteer requirements

Water quality monitoring requires a time commitment of one to two midday hours per week. Volunteers choose the day of the week that is most convenient for them.
The monitoring season extends from late April to October, and generally can not be started mid-season.
Access to a canoe, kayak, or boat is essential for lake and pond monitoring since volunteers must provide the means to get to their monitoring locations, which are typically the deepest part of the lake, or mid-stream for rivers.
Volunteers do not need any prior experience in water quality monitoring. New volunteers must attend classroom and field training, usually in April.

Monitoring sites

We work with local organizations to identify monitoring sites (click here for a list of our current sites). Our goal is to have a minimum of three sites per watershed or system to get a fuller understanding of impacts to a particular area. We also ask for a commitment of at least three years for new sites (although the people monitoring may change year-to-year) so that weather variations and other natural background “noise” can be reduced when assessing conditions. These criteria mean that the stream or small pond in your backyard may not be a site for which we are seeking volunteers, but we are happy to discuss it with you.

To become a volunteer, please fill out an submit this form and we will follow-up with you:

URI WW Volunteer Profile

Name*
First Last
Address*
Street Address Address Line 2 City State / Province / Region ZIP / Postal Code
Best Phone*
If this is a cell phone, can we text you?
Email*
Can we add your email to our listserv? (We never share email addresses)*
Do you have a preferred monitoring location? List name and town.
How many miles (approx) to your home are these locations?
Please enter a number from 0 to 100.
If you are part of a lake, watershed, environmental or sporting organizations, please list them.
Our volunteers have a wide range of work experiences and interests. Please briefly share yours.*
Why do you want to participate in URI Watershed Watch in 2024?*
If you are a middle/high school student, what grade are you in?
Please enter a number from 6 to 12.