National Marine Life Center

120 Main St, Buzzards Bay, Ma 02532, Usa
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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.

National Marine Life Center

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Ways to help

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

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

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

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

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

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

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
Items we need now

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.
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