When individuals join Save Our Shores as volunteers, they become part of a dynamic team working to protect and preserve the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. If you're looking for ways to put your passion to good use, to give back to your community and spend some quality time outdoors, the Save Our Shores volunteer program is for you. Our volunteers have a whole lot of fun while helping our ocean and marine environment thrive. What kind of volunteer are you? Find out below!

Visit our Cleanup & Event Calendar for upcoming events.

Beach & River Cleanups:

If being outdoors and preventing hundreds to thousands of pounds of pollution from entering our ocean is for you, come out to volunteer for our next beach or river cleanup!

Monthly Beach Cleanups happen on the 2nd Saturday of every month in Monterey County, and on the 3rd Saturday of every month in Santa Cruz County. River Cleanups in Santa Cruz take place about 4 times a year with the City of Santa Cruz..

Don't miss our 3 largest community-wide cleanups of the year:

Earth Day
The July 5th Star Spangled Beach Cleanup
Annual Coastal Cleanup Day on September 15th!

Find out all you need to know on our Beach & River Cleanups page...

Sanctuary Stewards:

Sanctuary Stewards are the core volunteer force of Save Our Shores and the heart of our work in all three of our initiatives. In the Steward Course, which begins each February, you'll meet a team of diverse individuals dedicating at least 50 hours of their time to volunteer for Save Our Shores before the year's end. This is truly where the magic happens. If you're looking for a closer connection to your community and environment, the Steward course is for you.

Our Sanctuary Stewards make school presentations, lead beach cleanups, help spread the word about ocean conservation at community events, and work on special projects from making costumes, to graphic design to data entry. Email volunteer@saveourshores.org for more information.

Learn more on the Sanctuary Steward page...

DockWalkers:

If being on out on the docks while helping to prevent small oil spills and educate boaters sounds more like your speed, then the DockWalker team is right for you! DockWalkers come from all walks of life to empower boaters to do the right thing by offering information on proper disposal of oil and hazardous materials. Short trainings are held the day of each event.

DockWalkers work in the Pillar Point (Half Moon Bay), Santa Cruz, Moss Landing, and Monterey Harbors throughout the summer months. A typical DockWalker shift is 3-4 hours and consists of handing out free educational and oil spill clean up materials to boaters. Contact lauren@saveourshores.org or call 831-462-5660 ext. 6.

Learn more on our Clean Boating & DockWalkers page...

Private & School Cleanups:

Have a large group or school group that would like to take part in their own private beach cleanup event? Is your business or corporate group looking for a volunteer team-building experience set to the backdrop of the beautiful Monterey Bay? Save Our Shores will work with you to accommodate your group event. Business and corporate groups are encouraged to email cleanup@saveourshores.org to get the conversation going.

Learn more on our School & Private Cleanups page...

Adopt-a-Beach:

Want your group to become an ocean champion for your favorite beach throughout the year? Become the newest group to Adopt-a-Beach through Save Our Shores! Adopt-a-Beach groups pledge to participate in at least 3 beach cleanups a year and will have their group name displayed on an Adopt-a-Beach sign at your adopted beach. Meet our current Beach Adopters...

Learn more on our Adopt-a-Beach page...