Come out and Play for Earth Day!
— from Barbara Marrett/San Juan Islands Visitor Bureau —
Did you know that April is National Volunteer Month? Spend a day or more giving back to the Islands’ natural places we all love during April & May. Work with your neighbors to maintain trails in beautiful Moran State Park on Orcas Island, clean up a beach on San Juan, Orcas, or Lopez Islands, ride your bike in the Tour de Lopez, and then enjoy the All-Species Parade in Lopez Village.
Other Earth Day stewardship events throughout April make a great learning opportunity for families with children. The San Juan Island National Historical Park Bio-Blitz, May 20-21, is a family oriented species inventory in which teams of volunteers, each led by an expert scientist, find, identify, and photograph as many species as possible within a defined amount of time. This snapshot view helps scientists understand what lives in this national treasure of a park, and help conserve it for future generations.
“Inspired by the incredible jewel of the San Juan Islands,” and in celebration of Earth Day, San Juan Islands Museum of Art new director, Ian Boyden, welcomes you to“Fragile Waters,” April 23 through September 5, an exhibit of black-and-white photography by Ansel Adams, Dorothy Kerper Monnelly, and Ernest Brooks, all world renowned photographers and lifelong environmentalists. Find out more at www.visitsanjuans.com/voluntourism-earth-day-events, along with information about quiet-season lodging, dining specials and more. Additional events and opportunities will be added to the website as available.
Lopez Island Volunteer Opportunities
- The Great Lopez Island Clean-up Earth Day Event, April 23, BLM, San Juan Islands National Monument, San Juan County Land Bank. Clean up a beach and then enjoy the Annual All-Species Parade in Lopez Village.
Orcas Island Volunteer Opportunities
- Moran State Park Annual Clean-up, April 9, Orcas Island
- Great Islands Cleanup, April 23, Orcas Island
San Juan Island Volunteer Opportunities
- Earth Day Beach Clean-up, April 22, Henry Island
- Great Islands Cleanup, April 23, San Juan Island
Nature and Stewardship Events
- Fragile Waters: Ansel Adams, Ernest H. Brooks II & Dorothy Kerper Monnelly, April 23 to September 5, Friday Harbor. Special events involving the photographers will take place opening weekend.
- The Whale Museum – Earth Weekend Workshops, April 23-24
- Tour de Lopez, April 23, Lopez Island
- Orcas Island BirdFest, April 30, Orcas Island
- National Parks BioBlitz, May 20-21, San Juan Island/Friday Harbor
- Experience Ancient Agriculture, May 8, Lopez Island
- YMCA Camp Orkila – Volunteer Work Weekend, May 20-22, Orcas Island
April & May Voluntourism Opportunities
Check out our Spring Break Packages for lodging and dining specials while volunteering on another island.
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