Be a Volunteer in Fighting the Oil Spill

Over a month since the explosion of BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil rig, an estimated 12,000 and 25,000 barrels of crude oil continue to gush into the Gulf of Mexico covering about 65 miles of Louisiana shoreline. With no end yet in sight, the coasts of Alabama, Mississippi and Florida also look to becoming victims of the spill. The continuing dissemination of the oil slick present a complete disaster for the shoreline habitat: volunteers are desperately needed. Here are some ways you can help:

General:

• Those who want to help clean up the coast can sign up at the Louisiana Gulf Response website. This organization is a liaison between various nonprofits and governmental conservation and environmental organizations: The Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, the National Wildlife Federation, the National Audubon Society, and the Barataria-Terrobonne National Estuary Program. Volunteers of this program will be assisting in oiled wildlife recovery to monitoring and photographing oil movement.

• The Sierra Club Foundation, a charity that seeks to support various environmental projects  is gathering volunteers, and will connect you with opportunities to help. To sign up, click here.

Clean Up Efforts:

• Matter of Trust is seeking human hair from beauty salons, animal fur from groomers and pantyhose to make homemade booms to sop up the oil. The fur is stuffed into pantyhose, which give shape to the booms. Volunteers are needed at warehouses in different sites across the country to gather for “Boom-B-Qs” to learn how to make the booms.

• Keys Spill are mobilizing volunteers to prevent oil from the shores of Florida Keys. About 800 boat captains have already offered the use of their vessels, and many people have signed up for classes in how to clean up oil that could begin showing up on the coast later this week.

• Global Green USA, a nonprofit focused on the creation of green buildings and cities, is signing up volunteers to help clean up the spill. Click here to sign up.

• The city of Biloxi, Mississippi is signing up volunteers at www.biloxi.ms.us/Volunteer.asp for preparation of when the oil reaches its shores.

• The Gulf Restoration Network, a New Orleans-based nonprofit committed to keeping the Gulf of Mexico clean, is gathering volunteers to help with clean-up efforts. Please click here to sign up.

• The Alabama Coastal Foundation, which works to improve and protect the quality of Alabama’s coastal resources, is collecting contact information from volunteers for cleanup efforts along the Alabama coast if the spill reaches its shores. To register, and for the latest information on the spill, go to http://www.joinacf.org/oil_info.html or call the Mobile-based nonprofit at 251-990-6002.

• The Mobile Bay National Estuary Program is looking for volunteers to help reduce the potential impact of the oil spill in Mobile Bay. To register, go to their website or call 251-431-6409.

• The Mobile Baykeeper is another Alabama group seeking volunteers in case the oil pushes into the state’s shores. If you are interested in volunteering to reduce the impacts of the oil spill to the Bay, please call their office at 251-433-4229 or e-mail info@mobilebaykeeper.org with your name, address, phone number, e-mail and available resources.

Helping animals effected by the spill:

• Louisiana’s St. Tammany Humane Society seeks trained and untrained volunteers to help clean and rehab oiled pelicans. Call Catherine Wilbert at 985-674-6898 or click here.

• The National Audubon Society is gathering volunteers who want to help clean up birds. To register click here. The Audobon Society also seeks eBirders, people needed to survey local beaches and marshes for birds; your observations will help conservationists and researchers prioritize their efforts and asses the impacts of the spill. For more information click here.

• Pascagoula River Audubon Center, part of Audobon Mississippi, is organizing training on cleaning wildlife affected by the oil spill. Volunteers may register here.

• Tristate Bird Rescue & Research is coordinating on-the-ground volunteer efforts.

• Save Our Seabirds is a Sarasota, Florida-based bird rescue group that is looking for volunteers and support as its response team prepares to help oiled wildlife. Click here to fill out their online form or call 941-388-3010.

For the most recent updates of the oil spill and volunteer opportunities, search #oilspill on Twitter and check on the Louisiana Shore Cleanup Facebook Group. Furthermore, the government has a volunteer hotline at 1-866-448-5816.

Sources: here and here.

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