Get Involved
CLOCA Volunteer Program
Looking to give back to your community and Mother Earth by spending some time in our Conservation Areas and assisting with the delivery of some of our restoration, education and community engagement projects? We offer a variety of volunteer experiences suitable for all ages and abilities. Click on the following volunteer positions to find out about our skilled and general volunteer positions.
Skilled
Must be available for a minimum of 70 hours of service, Central Lake Ontario Conservation's (CLOCA's) health and safety training is mandatory.
General
No minimum hours of service, participate when you can. Suitable for high school community service hours, families, seniors, post-secondary students.
Corporate
Corporate Sponsorship Volunteer Opportunities
CLOCA Festivals
Purple Woods Maple Syrup Festival (March-April)
Volunteers are needed to assist with the delivery of the annual Purple Woods Maple Syrup Festival at Purple Woods Conservation Area in Oshawa at 38 Coates Road East. Positions include Children’s Activity Assistant, Festival Admissions Assistant and Parking Assistant.
Durham Children's Watershed Festival (September - modified format for 2020; volunteers not required)
Volunteers are needed to assist with the delivery of the annual Durham Children’s Watershed Festival at Camp Samac in Oshawa at 275 Conlin Road. Positions include Activity Centre Host and Bus Greeter.
For more information, please contact:
Yvonne Storm, Special Events Coordinator
905-579 0411, ext. 144
Fax: 905-579 0994
Email: ystorm@cloca.com
Conservation Area Trail Steward (CATS)
Central Lake Ontario Conservation launched our first graduating class of Conservation Area Trail Stewards at Lynde Shores Conservation Area and the boots landed on the ground in January 2020. We continue to look for interested volunteers, minimum 18 years of age. High school students can participate; however, they must be supervised by a parent or guardian. Our next intake is currently postponed due to COVID-19 mitigation efforts. Please add your name to our CATS Contact List and we will forward you updates as they become available. For more details about CATS, please visit www.cloca.com/cats.
Volunteer Monitoring Assistant (Terrestrial or Aquatic)
Volunteer opportunities are available to support CLOCA Biologists with data collection, database management and GIS mapping as part of our Integrated Watershed Monitoring Program. Ability to identify Ontario native and invasive plant species, and Ecological Land Classification Certification are required for the Terrestrial Monitoring Volunteer Assistant. Ability to identify Ontario native and non-native fish, benthic invertebrates, and submergent/emergent vegetation and possess a Pleasure Craft Operators Card, certification in Wetland Evaluation, OBBN, Electrofishing, able to conduct field work and use a handheld GPS, and working knowledge of ArcGIS are required for the Aquatic Monitoring Volunteer Position.
Post-Secondary Placement
Post-Secondary Placement available in Natural Heritage, Watershed Planning, Communications, GIS, Accounting and Administration, Engineering and Land Management. Applications must be received by October of semester 1 for placement in semester 2 or February of semester 2 for the upcoming semester 1.
Restoration and Stewardship
Assist with planting native plants (trees, shrubs, perennials, aquatic plants) or creating habitat for specific species in our Conservation Areas. When you complete our General Volunteer Application, you will be added to our volunteer event list and notified of upcoming events through our quarterly electronic newsletter.
High School Co-op Placement
CLOCA offers placement positions for High School students in both first and second semester. Placement positions available in Accounting (½ or full day) at our main office located in Oshawa at 100 Whiting Avenue and Conservation Area Operations (full day only) located in the Municipality of Clarington at the Enniskillen Conservation Area located at 7274 Holt Road.
Students must provide their own transportation to and from these sites. Please note the Holt Road location does not offer public transportation. Applicants are requested to submit an application in October of semester 1 for placement in semester 2 and in March of semester 2 for the upcoming semester 1.
Corporate Sponsorship
As part of our ongoing efforts to enhance our Conservation Areas and environmental education programs throughout the year, we offer a variety of unique volunteer opportunities for corporations. Some corporate partners volunteer a small number of employees to help with an existing program, like our Durham Children’s Watershed Festival. This generally consists of the employee participating in a day or more of delivering an activity centre.
For larger employee participation, we typically design a project to meet your needs and objectives and ask that a donation is made to cover the costs of materials to implement the project. In some cases, if opportunities exist and time is available, our staff will submit a funding proposal to a variety of grant agencies or foundations to cover the material costs. Corporations who prefer this option will require six months to one year for planning, design, approvals and the preparation of funding applications. If you are interested in a corporate event specific to your company, please contact Yvonne Storm.
Yvonne Storm, Special Events Coordinator
(905) 579 0411 ext. 144
Fax: (905) 579 0994
Email: ystorm@cloca.com