Macatawa Area Coordinating CouncilVolunteer Opportunities
Volunteer for Clean Water
Join us to have fun and feel good protecting our watershed! No experience is necessary to participate in any of these opportunities. All training and equipment will be provided by the MACC or partners, as well as snacks and refreshments. These opportunities are scheduled at various times throughout the year, so check our calendar often to see what’s scheduled. Better yet, sign up to receive our newsletter to be directly notified of volunteer events!
River Cleanup
- Every spring and fall
- Typically scheduled for 2 hours on a Saturday morning
- location varies between Kollen Park, Dunton Park, and Window on the Waterfront
- All ages welcome, under 16 accompanied by an adult
- Pick up trash walking along the shore or from the water in kayaks
- Great for groups such a Boy/Girl Scouts, Youth Groups, employee volunteer days
Click here for additional river and beach cleanup events in Ottawa and Allegan County
Macroinvertebrate Monitoring
Every spring and fall- Typically scheduled for a full week day
- 7 locations throughout the watershed
- Volunteers meet at a central location, form teams and carpool to the monitoring sites
- Teens and up, under 16 accompanied by an adult
- Jobs include: collecting bugs in the stream with nets, sorting through the collection, identifying and counting the bugs, filling out the data sheet
Road-Stream Crossing Inventories
- Spring through fall every year
- Typically schedule for 3.5 hours on a weekday or Saturday morning
- Volunteers meet at a central location, form teams and carpool to the crossings
- Teams of 3+ people typically completed 3 or 4 sites
- Ages 18 and up only
- Comprehensive measurements of the crossing, the stream and the road
- Conditions can include steep slopes and noxious plants
Habitat Assessments
- Spring or fall, every 5 years
- Typically completed during macroinvertebrate sampling
- Same 7 locations as macroinvertebrate monitoring
- Volunteers meet at a central location, form teams and carpool to the monitoring sites
- Teens and up, under 16 accompanied by an adult
- Includes visual assessment of stream habitat and some measurements
