Volunteer in Virginia

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Oyster shell bags are loaded onto the R/V Patricia Campbell. The bags are stored at our Mill Creek nursery and distributed to oyster gardeners in the fall.

CBF Staff

From oyster gardening to speaking engagements to becoming a Chesapeake Stewards, we've got plenty of ways for you to get involved across the Commonwealth!

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) is very fortunate to have the help and support of thousands of residents who volunteer their time and who have demonstrated their commitment to a cleaner, healthier, Chesapeake Bay. Every year, volunteers donate more than 25,000 hours to CBF programs that advance the Bay's health. The immediate results of their work are impressive. But the value of their undertaking for future generations is priceless. We salute our volunteers for their contribution to a better community and a restored Bay.

Following are just a sampling of the many ways that you, too, can get involved.

If you would like to become involved and have not volunteered before or would like more information, please complete our Volunteer Information Form. If you are already a CBF volunteer and would like more information about current or specific opportunities, contact our office at 410-268-8816 or send an e-mail to [email protected].

In the Field

  • Stream and Shoreline Restoration

    Planting native trees and shrubs along the banks of waterways in one of the most effective ways to keep polluted runoff out of streams. Creating living shorelines with native wetland plants and grasses helps restore habitat for wildlife, preventerosion, capture sediment, and filter pollution.

    Check our calendar for current opportunities

  • Clean the Bay Day

    Since 2000, CBF has sponsored one of Virginia's most effective clean-up efforts. Clean the Bay Day, held annually the first Saturday in June, now elnlists more than 7,000 volunteers to remove litter and debris from the state's waterways. From the the Shenandoah Valley to Virginia's Eastern Shore and from Northern Virginia to the North Carolina border, this impressive effort pulls more than 100 tons of trash from the Bay and its tributaries each year.

    Find out more about Clean the Bay Day

In Your Community

  • Advocacy

    CBF volunteer advocates speak for the Bay and its rivers and streams. They are the infantry in our fight for clean water, making their voices heard on public policy, legislation, development, and other issues that affect our waterways. Advocacy volunteers contribute at many levels. They show up at rallies, send e-mails, make phone calls, gather signatures for petitions, and remind citizens and public officials of the need to restore the Bay and its rivers and streams.

    Join CBF's Action Network

  • Clean Water Captains

    Clean Water Captains are ambassadors for clean water in their communities. CBF staff can't be in all 92 localities that drain to the Bay, so we rely on captains to help be the eyes, ears, and voice for the Chesapeake Clean Water Blueprint. Clean Water Captains take action in support of clean water by sharing information with their neighbors, congregations, community, and elected officials to help raise awareness and help realize practical, effective, local solutions. Captains help find solutions that work to restore clean water in their communities.

    Find out more about being a Clean Water Captain

  • VoiCeS

    CBF's Volunteers as Chesapeake Stewards, or VoiCeS, program engages local volunteers and their communities and fosters a deeper understanding of the Bay watershed and the efforts to restore it.

    Learn more about CBF's VoiCeS Program

In Our Office

Internships

CBF's Richmond office offers a limited number of unpaid internships for undergraduate and graduate students. Interns have the opportunity to work with a wide variety of environmental professionals on a host of water-quality related issues. Interested students should check our Internship Opportunities webpage.

Pro Bono Assistance

Volunteering as a CBF pro bono volunteer is a great way to build professional skills while putting your talents to use to better your community and save the Bay. Whatever your talents—law, communications, finance, fund raising, to name just a few—please consider putting them to use for the Bay. 

Support the Chesapeake Bay Foundation

Your donation helps the Chesapeake Bay Foundation maintain our momentum toward a restored Bay, rivers, and streams for today and generations to come.

Donate Today

Save the Bay

Founded in 1967, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) is the largest independent conservation organization dedicated solely to saving the Bay.

Save the Bay
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