Volunteer Positions Available at VIERS:
Positions through April 24, 2009
have been filled.
If you are planning to volunteer in
2009, please apply early.
NOTE: No paid volunteer positions are available.
NOTE: VIERS is a no smoking
facility and no pets are allowed.
VIERS
Volunteer Support Staff
Stay for two weeks, a
month, or a couple of months!
The Virgin Islands Environmental
Resource Station (VIERS) offers opportunities for individuals and couples to
provide volunteer unpaid services throughout the year. Volunteers must be at least 18 years
old. Large groups cannot be accepted as
volunteers.
Throughout the entire
year, volunteers help VIERS staff with cleaning, weeding, painting and other
general activities associated with improving the facility.
From January through
August, VIERS hosts university and high school groups as well as a few
researchers and tourist as overnight guests.
Assistance is often needed with housekeeping [such as cleaning cabins,
showers and restrooms as well as laundry], kitchen help [such as meal
presentation and cleaning the dining hall and kitchen], store/office [such as
stocking inventory] as well as helping with improvement projects [such as light
carpentry and plumbing projects]. Extra volunteers are needed to help with
groups in January and March.
From May through August,
VIERS concentrates on providing direct environmental education to U.S. Virgin
Islands and Caribbean students and assistance is often needed in presenting
guided hikes, lectures, slide/video presentations, island tours, swimming
lessons, lifeguarding, etc. Extra volunteers are needed from early July to
mid-August to help with our summer youth camps.
From September through
December, VIERS has an occasional group visit that will require guest services,
but caretaking, weeding and facility improvements are the primary activities in
the fall.
Volunteers are assigned duties
throughout the day. Improvement projects are usually scheduled from 8 a.m. to
noon on days when groups are not visiting VIERS.
Caution:
Some activities will make you sweat,
some activities
will get you dirty,
and volunteers are often assigned to
clean toilets on daily basis!
In recognition of the
value of the services rendered, support staff members who provide at least 4
hours of service each day (or at least 28 hours per week) of unpaid volunteer
service at VIERS will be provided at no charge:
● Lodging consisting of a
twin bed in one-half of a cabin room. [Two persons may share a cabin room.]
● Meals (breakfast, lunch
and dinner). [Staff
members prepare their own meals except when group meals are prepared. We can accommodate
vegetarians. Special diets are at the volunteers
expense.]
● Filtered drinking water
and ice for personal consumption.
● Use of laundry facilities
which includes washer, dryer and detergent for their own personal clothing.
● Very limited personal use
of internet access, computer, business telephone/fax, and other office
equipment. Some uses may require a fee.
Support staff members are
responsible for their personal travel and travel expenses to and from VIERS at
all times. While we try to provide assistance, VIERS is not obligated to
provide transportation for personal travel at any time.
Support staff members are
responsible for their personal expenses, especially long distance telephone
charges. (The use of pre-paid phone cards is encouraged.) Some cell phones work on the southside of St. John.
Support staff members
must adhere to the rules and regulations of the Virgin Islands National Park
(VINP), the Drug and Alcohol Policy of the University of the Virgin Islands,
and the VIERS Facility Use Policy of Clean Islands International.
Support staff members are
not permitted to have overnight guests or guests for meals without the prior
permission of the Operations Manager.
Applications are accepted
year-round. Send brief bio (no more than one-half page or brief resume of
skills, and references with current e-mail addresses to:
Randy Brown, VIERS
Administrator, E-mail address: Randy
Brown
You can now download a copy of the VIERS Volunteer
Agreement Form and VIERS Guest Form by selecting the following:
VIERS Volunteer Agreement(Word.doc
File)
VIERS Guest Form(Word.doc
File)