Volunteers Needed for Work Parties

Volunteer your time and skills and help support the Refuge! The Friends and Refuge Staff organize work parties throughout the year that help keep the refuge clean, maintain the trails of the refuge, manage invasive species, provide suitable habitat and support special projects. This page lists scheduled work parties run by the Friends and Refuge Staff. Be sure to check our other Volunteer pages for other ways you can volunteer.

Saturday, March 6, 8 AM - 5 PM
Saturay, May 15, 10 AM - 3 PM

Volunteers Needed to Man Information our Information Booth

The Friends are looking for volunteers to help publicize the Assabet River NWR at upcoming local events

On March 6th from 8AM to 5 PM we'll have an information booth at the Mass Audubon - 18th Birders Meeting at the LaCava Center at Bentley University, Waltham. If you can help man the booth, please contact Frank Laak at f.laak@att.net. For information on the meeting see here.

The Friends are also looking for volunteers to help with publicizing the Assabet River Refuge at the Stow Springfest. The Springfest is scheduled for Saturday May 15 at 10 AM. It will take place at the Center School and will begin with a big town parade. The theme is "Special Stow" and will highlight among other things the open spaces and wild spaces that make Stow so special. Assabet River NWR is a major part of Stow and the organizers would like to have the refuge represented in the parade and for a booth hosted at the festival. This will provide an opportunity to answer questions and provide information about the refuge and the soon-to-be open Visitor Center.

The Friends are looking for volunteers to participate in the parade and to help with an information booth. Please contact Neela de Zoysa at neeladez@gmail.com by February 25th if you can help in any way.

Interested in serving on the Friends' board?

The Friends are embarking on an exciting new phase. We will be an integral part of the Fish and Wildlife Service's new Visitor Center on the Refuge representing the Eastern Massachusetts Refuge Complex. This will provide the Friends with a greater opportunity to serve the community through further outreach, environment education and collaboration with local organisations.

If you are interested in helping us chart that course and help guide our expanding role in the community, please consider serving on our board or on one of our committees for outreach, membership recruitment, trail work, nature store or environmental education.

Our Annual Meeting will be on April 21, 2010 when we will elect members to the Board of Directors and report on the activities of the organization. We especially welcome Friends members or members of the community who are residents of Hudson, Maynard, Stow, and Sudbury where the Assabet River NWR is located. Regardless, we welcome anyone who is concerned with the Assabet River Refuge and willing to help.

If you are interested in submitting your name to our nominating committee, please reply to info@farnwr.org and will be delighted to hear of your interest. Thank you for continued support of the refuge and we hope to see you at our next meeting.

Invasive Plant Removal at Assabet River NWR

There are no scheduled work parties at this time. They will be posted as they develop.
If you have any questions contact Amber Carr at Amber_Carr@fws.gov or 978-443-4661 x33.

For background information on the severe problem with invasive species in the refuge and other nearby conservation lands, please refer to:

1. US Fish and Wildlife Service information: www.fws.gov/invasives/
2. New England Wildflower Society information: www.newfs.org/protect/invasive-plants
3. Mass Audubon Society information: www.massaudubon.org/Invasive_Species/
4. Invasive Plant Atlas of New England nbii-nin.ciesin.columbia.edu/ipane/

Trail and General Maintenance Work Parties at Assabet River NWR

There are no scheduled work parties at this time. They will be posted as they develop.
If you have any questions contact Frank Laak at f.laak@att.net or 1-508-460-8450.