Volunteers keep our parks clean and healthy

Whether it is planting beach grass, cleaning up debris or sprucing up buildings with fresh coats of paint, JBRPC relies on dedicated volunteers like you to protect and enhance city, state, and national parkland in Jamaica Bay and the Rockaway peninsula. With more than 10,000 acres of parkland, there is no shortage of ways to make an impact! Scroll down to learn about upcoming volunteer events or visit our Event Calendar. Please read our volunteer guidelines below before registering.

Removing harmful marine debris

That wash up on our shorelines or are left behind by visitors.

Planting native plants

Like salt marsh cordgrass on the bay and dune grass on the beach.

Local waterways carry floatable trash to Jamaica Bay and Rockaway shores such as household waste and single use plastics that wind up on our shorelines from the streets of Brooklyn, Queens and Nassau County. Marine debris and trash left behind in our parks are harmful to our natural environment and wildlife.

upcoming volunteer events

Cleanup at Hamilton Beach Park

May 4th, 2024

10 am - 12 pm

learn more

Cleanup at Rockaway Community Park

May 18th, 2024

10 am - 12 pm

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Volunteer Guidelines

Thank you for your interest in volunteering with Jamaica Bay-Rockaway Parks Conservancy. Our parks and shorelines are busier than ever and your support as volunteers is greatly needed and appreciated at this time. In order to ensure your health and safety, in addition to the health and safety of others, please follow the guidelines listed below while volunteering, along with local, state and federal guidance related to COVID-19. Please review these guidelines thoroughly.

Perform a self-health check at home to see if you may be sick with COVID-19. If you are feeling sick or exhibit any COVID-19 symptoms do NOT volunteer.
Volunteer events may limit participation at this time. Please only register to volunteer if you are able to attend.
Hand sanitizer will be available on site. Please also wash your hands at the start and end of the volunteer project if possible.
Gloves will be available on site. You are encouraged to bring your own gloves.
Please bring your own water, sunscreen, a hat, and any other personal supplies.
Solo volunteering opportunities are also available. Please visit our Support Our Shoreline page for more information.
Volunteer at a park that you can travel to safely or that is close to where you live.
Please follow any additional state, city and federal guidelines and safety protocols.
Complete our volunteer waiver before attending.

Join our Volunteer List!

Name

First Name

Last Name

Phone

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More information about stewardship

Two hundred interns remove litter and maritime debris bettering the beach for the community and wildlife that live at Plumb Beach.

JBRPC's youngest becoming dedicated stewards at Floyd Bennett Field nursery.

Volunteers remove 1110 lbs of debris during the Annual New York State Beach Cleanup.

Planting beach grass plugs in Rockaway provides shoreline protection to coastal communities.

Volunteers remove debris from Plumb Beach.

Volunteers plant beach grass to stabilize the dunes in Rockaway, which protects the shoreline from storm surges.

After a hard day's work of tending to an acre of the beach grass nursery at Floyd Bennett Field, volunteers smile for the camera.

Volunteers spruce up a building with a fresh coat of paint at American Ballfields Park.

The entire family can get involved at the Floyd Bennett Field nursery.

Volunteers eager to paint the buildings at Plumb Beach.

Beach grass is planted in rows on the Rockaway dunes to stabilize the sand and make the coast more resilient.

Beach cleanups provide an important chance to learn about the coastal and marine environments as well as the species that inhabit these spaces.

Volunteers remove 7,000 lbs of asphalt from American Ballfields Park.

Volunteers comb the beach during a Plumb Beach cleanup.

Volunteers remove maritime debris from Plumb Beach.

Dunes buffer ocean waves and protect the coast and coastal communities from storms and sea level rise.

Volunteers remove 44 bags of debris during the Annual NY State Beach Cleanup Day.

Volunteers plant beach grass on the dunes in Rockaway, fortifying the coast against sea-level rise.

Volunteers remove 2,500 lbs of trash from American Ballfields Park.

Beach grass provides necessary coastal protection to neighboring communities.

Volunteers remove 450 lbs of large-scale debris from Plumb Beach.

Jamaica Bay is a breeding ground for horseshoe crabs; however, asphalt blocks the wildlife from coming ashore and laying eggs. By removing these obstacles, the bay makes progress in restoring its natural habitats and ecosystems.

Jamaica Bay-Rockaway Parks Restoration Corps members clean Plumb Beach so that visitors have a safe path to the sand.

Beach grass plays an important role in fortifying the dunes.

Volunteers at Plumb Beach learn about the wildlife and habitats they help to restore.

A volunteer plants beach grass on the dunes in Rockaway.

Volunteers coat the Plumb Beach Roundhouse with fresh paint.

It is ideal to plant beach grass during its dormancy period from November through the end of March, provided the sand is not frozen.

Volunteers plant beach grass at the 3.25-acre nursery at Floyd Bennett Field.

Twenty-thousand culms of beach grass will provide additional coastal protection to the Rockaway peninsula.

Volunteers proudly pose with the beach grass culms they have planted on the Rockaway dunes.

A before and after photograph of the Rockaway dunes after a hard day's work of planting beach grass.

A volunteer prepares to plant a bundle of beach grass culms on the dunes in Rockaway.

JBRPC shoreline cleanups are generously supported in part by Con Edison, NYC Ferry, New York City Council, and the New York State Assembly.

Follow us on social media! Volunteer opportunities will be posted on Facebook and Instagram. We look forward to seeing you in Jamaica Bay and Rockaway!

If you have any questions about our volunteer programs, please email volunteer@jbrpc.org.