Looking to make a difference in the health of Long Island Sound? Check out these upcoming volunteer events across CT and NY. You can make a difference!
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Volunteer Newsletter | Fall 2025
Thanks for your interest in protecting Long Island Sound! We’ve got volunteer events coming up all across Connecticut and New York this September and October.
Whether you're into beach cleanups, habitat restoration, or rain garden projects, there's a way for everyone to pitch in.
CONNECTICUT VOLUNTEER EVENTS
Save the Sound Cleanups: September and October
September
- Saturday, September 6 | 10am - 12pm. Long Wharf Nature Preserve, New Haven. Please register to ensure enough supplies. Register here.
- Saturday, September 13 | 9 - 11am. West Beach, Westbrook. Please register to ensure enough supplies. Register here.
- Saturday, September 13 | 10am - 12pm. Hammonassett Beach State Park, Madison. Please register to ensure enough supplies. Register here.
October
- Sunday, October 5 | 9 - 11am. Seaside Park, Bridgeport. Please register to ensure enough supplies. Register here.
- Saturday, October 11 | 9am - 12pm. Silver Sands State Park, Milford. Please register to ensure enough supplies. Register here.
Additional cleanup events are happening in September and October.
Click below for the full list.
Save the Sound Eelgrass Restoration | Various Days in September, October, and November
Help restore a vital marine ecosystem! The bays and coves of Long Island Sound were once home to vast eelgrass meadows, which sheltered marine life, absorbed climate pollution, and improved water quality. With your help, we are working to reestablish this underwater habitat.
Join Save the Sound at their volunteer sessions September - November.
Learn more and register here.
Earthplace Community Volunteer Day | Saturday, September 6, 10am - 12pm
The sanctuary needs your help! As the largest open space in Westport, the 62-acre wildlife sanctuary at Earthplace is a vital hub for local biodiversity and education. We are asking our community to join us in caring for the land by removing invasive plant species and tending to the trails. Bring your neighbor and come down to Earthplace for our Community Volunteer Day. We’ll fuel up with coffee and tea, mingle, and enter the volunteer raffle before hitting the trails at 10:15.
Please remember to bring a bottle of water, wear pants, long socks, and tick repellent. Gloves and tools will be provided!
NEW YORK VOLUNTEER EVENTS
Friends of the Bay Cleanup Events: Saturdays in September and October
September
- Saturday, September 20 | 9am - 12pm. International Coastal Cleanups at Stehli Beach and Centre Island Beach. Hosted by Friends of the Bay. Register here.
October
- Saturday, October 11 | 9am - 12pm. Oyster Bay Rain Garden Work Party. Friends of the Bay is holding a fall rain garden work party with the Town of Oyster Bay. Volunteers will help clean up their local rain gardens at the Western Waterfront (1 West End Ave, Oyster Bay). Register here.
- Saturday, October 25 | 9am - 12pm. Theodore Roosevelt Beach Cleanup, Oyster Bay. Friends of the Bay and the town of Oyster Bay are hosting a harbor cleanup at Theodore Roosevelt Beach. Volunteers do not need to register for this cleanup.
Bronx River Alliance: Paddle and Pick Up at Concrete Plant Park: Saturday, September 20
Join the Bronx River Alliance for a Paddle and Pick Up in Concrete Plant Park! This guided canoeing river cleanup will allow participants to enjoy the river and protect local wildlife at the same time! Participants will be given gloves, grabbers, and trash bags or buckets, to safely remove floatable litter from the Bronx River.
Previous canoeing experience is strongly recommended for this activity. Advanced registration is required to participate.
For more information, please email paddle@bronxriver.org
VOLUNTEER HIGHLIGHTS
Thank You, Volunteers, for a Successful 2025 River Herring & Eel Survey
A huge thank-you to every volunteer who took part in this spring’s River Herring & American Eel Survey. Your observations help scientists track migration patterns and guide restoration efforts across Long Island and Westchester. This year, a special shout-out goes to our North Shore volunteers and the Long Island Sound Partnership, whose outreach and coordination helped their sites lead the survey in both participation and number of observation events. Your dedication, fish or no fish, is making a lasting difference for these species.
If your organization would like its volunteer event advertised in this volunteer e-newsletter, our Volunteer Opportunities web page, or on our social media channels, please email Erica Casper at erica.casper@uconn.edu.
Erica Casper
Long Island Sound Partnership Outreach Coordinator
erica.casper@uconn.edu
