Volunteer with msi

here's how you can get involved

Email Cassidy@mountainstudies.org to sign up as a volunteer to hear about upcoming volunteer trainings and opportunities.

I. CITIZEN SCIENCE

• Invasive Weed Mapping: Weeds follow disturbance, such as wildfire. With cows grazing and humans, horses, and dogs recreating in the recently burned Hermosa Creek drainage, an influx of invasive weeds is expected. Help MSI and the Forest Service map invasive plants in the 416 burn area by submitting photo observations of weeds.

• Bighorn Sheep Monitoring: Rocky mountain bighorn sheep were at one time a primary ungulate in Colorado, like deer. Despite ample prime habitat (such as the Weminuche Wilderness), these majestic animals are dwindling in population. Disease from domestic sheep is a top concern, and this study will help us understand, when, where, and with what frequency bighorn sheep and domestic sheep are interacting. Our data has the potential to inform important land management decisions to protect our native bighorn sheep.

• River Watch: Help MSI understand the state of our water quality and educate our communities about watershed health and potential threats to our rivers and streams. Volunteers will monitor water quality in the Animas River valley, contributing to River Watch’s state-wide data set. Data is used by the Water Quality Control Division in implementing the Clean Water Act. Interested volunteers may also provide engaging, hands-on education opportunities to school children and the public.
• Forestry: Our forests have been dramatically altered over the decades by grazing, logging, fire suppression, changing climates, and other impacts. Our local land managers have called for MSI to help develop a citizen science program around forest health. Stay tuned, or sign-up in advance, as we develop volunteer citizen science opportunities in our local forests.

II. Stewardship

Get your hands dirty by collecting seeds, restoring damaged wetlands and forests, removing invasive plants, and more.

• Native Seed Ball Project: Restore native vegetation in the 416 burn area by making and dispersing seed balls with native flower, grass, and shrub seeds in severly burnt areas. Native seed balls will help promote native plants before invasive weeds take hold and stabilize the soil to prevent water quality impacts.

• E.coli Monitoring Project: E.coli is an indicator of fecal matter. Since 2020, visitation and trail use has increased dramatically, as much tripling in some areas like Ice Lakes Basin. We want to understand how humans are impacting the water, and to use this data to teach people about the importance of proper waste management. Furthermore, domestic sheep graze in the alpine, and we are interested in their impact on our watersheds.

CHECK OUT OUR UPCOMING EVENTS HERE

III. Education

• Join our volunteer education team!
• Experience Mountain Science Program: Mountain Studies Institute partners with our schools to engage students in locally relevant, hands-on science learning opportunities. Volunteers can:
  • Develop relevant, engaging activities for us to take to schools, or to the river or forest. Volunteers will work with MSI staff to develop your own ideas or concepts that we have lined up that need building into quality activities.
  • Work with students, both indoors and in the great outdoor living classroom. MSI will train and work alongside volunteers to engage students with our pre-built activities.