National Marine Life Center

AnimalsEducation
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National Marine Life Center

AnimalsEducation
120 Main St, Buzzards Bay, MA 02532
Phone (508) 743 - 9888
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Our mission

The National Marine Life Center rehabilitates and releases stranded marine mammals and sea turtles in order to advance science and education in marine wildlife health and conservation.
Opportunities

Administrative

Do you prefer to stay in a climate controlled environment? Maybe you’re interested in getting your feet wet, while not actually getting your feet wet? Or are you suffering from cabin fever from the brutal New England winter and looking for a change of scenery? We are looking for office help to assist with projects like filing, answering the phone, inputting data, maintaining our clippings files, and photocopying.
  • Weekly
  • Teens, Adults
  • Individuals
  • Office work
  • Formal
  • Weekdays

Facilities

Facilities Volunteers are the unsung heroes of the National Marine Life Center, helping to keep our operations running smoothly. From helping with yard work like weeding and landscaping, to shoveling snow, to helping maintain our physical plant and life support system, to any number of special projects, these Jacks and Jills of all trade are indispensable!
  • Weekly
  • Teens, Adults
  • Individuals
  • Outdoor
  • Formal

Education Program & Fairs/Festival Team

Do you love teaching and sharing information about marine animals and ocean conservation? We are always looking for volunteers who are passionate about leaving an environmental and conservation impact on our current and future generations. Here at the National Marine Life Center, we do so with educational programs and fairs and festivals. Some of our programs include a summer day camp, Girl Scout and Boy Scout programs, school groups, home school groups, community organizations, and much more. During the summer and school vacations, we offer a number of drop in programs including ”Little Flippers” story and craft hour, and “Marine Animal Medical Mystery,” where children use models to learn about animal rehabilitation and research.
  • Weekly
  • Adults
  • Individuals
  • Indoor
  • Formal

Fundraising

Are you the type who is lost without their calendar? Do you love to plan events? Have you ever dreamed of being a Mermaid, or maybe the next Olympic gold medalist runner? Join our fundraising committees for our Mermaid Ball; Feet, Fins, & Flippers 5K, or Spectacle of Trees. Or, help us with grant writing, gift processing, and other fundraising tasks.
  • Weekly
  • Teens, Adults
  • Individuals
  • Event support
  • Formal

Discovery Center Docent

We are always looking for outgoing volunteers who enjoy engaging the public to great our guests as they visit and explore our Discovery Center. Help visitors explore our mission as you guide them around, providing the latest patient update and engaging them in crafts and activities. Our Discovery Center is open daily from Memorial Day through Labor Day, weekends from Labor Day thru Columbus Day, February and April school vacation weeks, and periodically for special events.
  • Weekly
  • Teens, Adults
  • Individuals
  • Indoor
  • Formal
  • Weekdays, Weekends

Animal Care Team

Joining our Animal Care Team is perfect for people who are interested in learning more about the care of our sea turtle and seal patients. Assist with the overall care of our marine animal patients, including: cleaning enclosures, preparing feeds, and maintaining our life support system. Assist in routine husbandry procedures including restraint for veterinary exams, tube feedings, and wound care. Work alongside our professional staff and gain knowledge about our local marine animals.
  • Weekly
  • Adults
  • Individuals
  • Indoor
  • Formal

Junior Animal Care Team

Are you interested in working with animals but are not yet 18 years old? You can still help! Our Junior Animal Care Team members are responsible for daily husbandry of our Red Bellied Cooters head start animals, our Diamondback Terrapin rehabilitation patients, and our Box Turtle collection animals. Responsibilities include cleaning, feeding, record keeping.
  • Weekly
  • Teens
  • Individuals
  • Indoor
  • Formal
Items we need

Supplies and Equipment Needed

“In-kind” donations help the National Marine Life Center direct more of our resources into our rehabilitation, science, and education programs.  If you are able to donate an item or items from our wishlist, please contact Kathy Zagzebski at [email protected] or 508 743-9888. Or, drop off your donation at 120 Main Street, Buzzards Bay between 9 am and 5 pm Monday through Friday or by appointment.  Thank you!

Visit our Amazon Wish Lists for additional suggestions. Please note these items do not have to be purchased from Amazon!

Animal Care Supplies
Alcohol prep pads
Betadine disinfectant
Betadine prep pads
Bleach disinfectant
Chlorhexidine (Nolvasan) disinfectant
Culture swabs
Fluids (especially lactated ringers)
Gauze pads
Gift Cards from PetCo & PetSmart
Hand sanitizer
Hemostats
IV sets/lines
Isopropyl Alcohol for disinfection
Laundry detergent
Microscope slides & cover slips
Needles (23g, 22g, 21g, 20g, 18g, 16g, spinal)
Non-latex (Nitrile) exam gloves
Pyrex 2-cup measuring cups
Rubber Boots (All Sizes, heavy duty)
Scrubs (tops and bottoms)
Slickers (heavy duty bibs and jackets; e.g., Grundens)
Syringes (12cc, 20cc, 30cc, 60cc)
Surgical masks
Virkon disinfectant

Animal Care Equipment
Feeding Syringes (400-500ml)
Large Canine Feeding Tubes
Hand truck, hand cart (heavy duty)
pH meter
Portable ultrasound machine
Refractometers
Scales, small for weighing food
Salinity Meter
Satellite tags
Shelving (sturdy plastic)
Stethoscopes
Storage cabinets (plastic, e.g., Rubbermaid)
Televisions – flat panel, to monitor patients

Animal Food & Vitamins
Calcium Tablets
Glucose Tabs
Herring (frozen)
Lactaid Tabs
Marine Mammal Tabs
Milk Matrix 30/52
NaCl Tabs
Quahogs
Romaine Lettuce
Sea Tabs
Squid (frozen)
Table Salt
Vitamin B Complex
Vitamin B1
Vitamin C

Education Supplies
Easels, for display
Gift Cards from A.C. Moore & Michaels
Gift Cards from Oriental Trading Company
Hand puppets of marine animals
Measuring tapes – metric/English
Memory wire
Plastic and plush models of ocean animals

General Supplies
Copy machine paper (8½ x 11″)
Cleaning supplies
Gift Cards from Citgo, Exxon, Shell
Gift Cards from Home Depot, Lowes
Gift Cards from Staples
Gift Cards from Stop & Shop, Shaws, Trader Joes
Gift Cards from CVS, Target, Walgreens, Walmart
Lamination paper
Laptop computers, wifi capable, Windows 10
Paper towels
Photo paper – InkJet compatible
Printer Ink – HP 950/951XL + 902XL
Rock Solid Floor Sealer
Tape – Duck, Masking, & Clear
Trash bags

The National Marine Life Center is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization, meaning your in-kind gift to NMLC may be tax deductible to the extent permitted by federal law.  NMLC’s federal tax identification number is 04-329-0276.
  • In-Kind Donations
  • Wishlist - Amazon, etc
Learn More
About us

The National Marine Life Center (NMLC) is an independent, non-profit 501(c)(3) marine animal hospital and science and education center.