If you’re looking for a longer-term volunteer opportunity, we have several available!

Water Watch

This year-round program ask volunteers to the be “the eyes” of Sound Rivers’ Riverkeepers! Volunteers attend a 2-hour training where they’ll learn how to collect observational data about water quality and be introduced to the Water Watch dashboard. Then they’ll pick a site on a waterway in the Neuse or Tar-Pamlico watersheds and visit monthly, and upload their observations to the dashboard, which is monitored by the Riverkeeping team. It’s a fantastic way to help your Riverkeepers continuously monitor more waterways! Find out more about becoming a Water Watcher here!

Tar-Pamlico Water Trail

Pamlico-Tar Riverkeeper Katey Zimmerman is looking for some handy volunteers to help make basic repairs to camping platforms on the Tar-Pamlico Water Trail. For more information, email Katey at katey@soundrivers.org.

Swim Guide

Every year, from Memorial Day to Labor Day, Sound Rivers assembles an army of water warriors to support our Swim Guide program, where we test water samples from more than 50 popular recreational sites across the Neuse and Tar-Pamlico, every week.

Tasks include collecting a water sample from a designated Swim Guide site on Thursday mornings and transport it to our drop-off location, where it will be then taken to our lab to be tested for bacteria. On Friday afternoons, you’ll see the results of your work as we publicly release whether each site met or failed to meet recreational water-quality standards.

If you’re interested in becoming a Swim Guide volunteer for summer of 2026, email Volunteer Coordinator Emily Fritz at emily@soundrivers.org!