Volunteer

If you would like to organise a Employee Volunteering or Team Building day for you and your colleagues, click here.

Interested in volunteering? Click here to express your interest.

Upcoming Induction Dates

Completing an EcoCentre volunteer induction allows you to participate in all of our volunteer opportunties. Register to attend an upcoming volunteer induction to find out more about current and upcoming volunteer opportunities.
 

Current Volunteering Opportunities

Reception volunteer (multiple positions available)

Are you super organised, computer savvy and love helping people? We're looking for people to join us in the office as reception volunteers to help the day to day operations of the EcoCentre run smoothly and greet our many visitors with a smile. You'll need to be available for at least 4 hours per week, and the minimum committment for this role is three months. 

Tasks include:

• Providing excellent customer service to EcoCentre visitors
• Responding to phone and email enquiries
• Handling venue hire enquiries and requests
• Perform basic housekeeping duties
• Performing light garden maintenance tasks
• Maintaining a clean kitchen
• Data entry and anaylsis (depending on skill levels)
• Writing and editing reports (depending on skills levels)
• Other project and prorgam related tasks

Find out more about this role in the Reception Volunteer position description. 
 

Volunteer Citizen Scientist - The Sunscreen Project (multiple positions available)

Are you interested in being part of ground breaking research that studies the effects of sunscreen chemicals on organisms in Port Phillip Bay? Join our team of volunteer citizen scientists taking water samples at 3 of the most popular beaches of Port Phillip Bay: St Kilda, Elwood and Rye. You'll need to be available for our winter and/or summer sampling dates, and samples are collected in the following shifts: 
Summer: 6am, 10am, 2pm, 6pm, 10pm on seven warm, sunny days (to be selected) during the school summer holidays, between Christmas and New Year and on weekends.
Winter: 6am, 10am, 2pm, 6pm on two days in winter

You will also be recording environmental conditions on that day, like water temperature, wave action, how many people are present in the water at the time the samples are taken, weather conditions, etc.

Find out more about this project and the position description here. 

Volunteer Citizen Scientist - Clean Bay Blueprint (multiple positions available)

Are you concerned about the effects of plastic waste in our waterways? Be part of Australia's first microplastics trawl research project by joining our team of volunteer citizen scientists analysing litter samples taken from our local waterways. This analysis is performed at the EcoCentre across the year in 4-6 hour shifts on week days. You'll need to be available for at least two shifts to participate in this program. 

Find out more about this project here.
 

Living Water Workbees Volunteer

Do you want to help improve water quality, create habitat for wildlife and alleviate flood and drought impacts from climate change around Elster Creek, Werribee River and Port Phillip Bay? Take part in one of our local Living Water Workbees that take place across the year. Almost every weekend there are street and beach clean ups and revegetation activities that you can get involved in. You can volunteer once or every weekend, it's up to you. Most events don't require prior registration, you just come along on the day and join in. 

Find out more about the Living Water Workbees project here.
 

St Kilda Repair Cafe fixer/mender (multiple positions available)

Do you like fixing things? Mending things that are broken or torn? The St Kilda Repair Cafe needs volunteers with skills at fixing household items such as clothing/textiles, jewellery, books, shoes, bikes, small furniture, computers, electronics, small appliances and more. The cafe is held at the EcoCentre from 2-5pm on the second Sunday of each month from March to December and you can volunteer as often as is convenient for you.

Find out more about the St Kilda Repair Cafe here. 
 

Gardening - Organic gardeners aspiring for a green thumb wanted (multiple positions available).

We are looking for garden volunteers to supplement our existing garden team. Having experience and knowledge of gardening is favourable, but not compulsory. Having team spirit, lots of enthusiasm and being reliable are!

Garden tasks are: 

Weeding, watering, mulching, propagation, composting, worm farming, harvesting, general site maintenance and landscaping (which may include digging, raking, tidying, etc).

You will be part of a dedicated team of amazing volunteers and will have the opportunity to deepen your knowledge on organic gardening techniques, and maintain a garden that has been teaching children and the community about growing food for over a decade. Plus you get to take home fresh, organic produce regularly, yum!

Gardeners are expected to:

• Be community-minded team-players;
• Have an interest in native vegetation/bush tucker growing as well as 'regular' vegetables;
• Participate on Fridays from 10 am - 3 pm, once a week, once a fortnight or once a month;
• Show a commitment to attending the group, the EcoCentre and its values;
• Undertake a safety induction

Interested? Fill in your details here and we'll be in touch! Please note volunteer inductions are run once a month, based on interest.

Compost turner (multiple positions available)

We are after a new volunteer (or two) who is interested in helping turn our compost bays.

Bays need turning Monday or Tuesdays and we like to have a regular volunteer, as well as someone who is available to be a back up turner, in case.

Waterers needed (multiple positions available)

Our garden beds are often thirsty!

We're after volunteers who are able to water once (or twice) for an hour during the week, to help keep our plants and veggies hydrated. You will be given a run down of the watering regime, including the hot house and pots.

Westgate Park Volunteers

Westgate Biodiversity welcome new volunteers (individuals, families and teams) to help them realise their vision and join a very enthusiastic core of volunteers.  There is much work still to be done!

FOWP work regularly on Mondays and Tuesdays from 8:30am to 3pm, and on the 3rd Sunday of the month from 9am to 4pm. Contact Tony on 0400 770 254 to discuss how you can help, and then they can arrange to meet, introduce you to the Park and take you to the current work site.

VOLUNTEER PHOTO GALLERY

Interested in volunteering? Click here to express your interest.