Volunteer Stewardship: Fourth of July Fireworks

Details

Do you want to watch the Fourth of July Fireworks and protect threatened and endangered shorebirds at the same time? Become a volunteer steward with New York State Parks for the night and help us keep our protected foraging and nesting habitats safe from patrons who are coming to enjoy the festivities.

Here are the details:

1. Meet on the south side of the pavilion at Field 1 at Jones Beach by 5pm. Please stay for the whole show which ends approximately at 10pm
2. Let the booth staff know that you are a volunteer if they are still charging at this time and you will not be charged a parking fee.
3. As groups of volunteers arrive, they will be assigned a group leader and a certain location on the beach. You will have to fill out a Volunteer Service Agreement and Photo Release Form if this is your first time volunteering with New York State Parks and sign-in for the day. if you have participated at the Memorial Day Airshow you only have to sign in instead of filling out a service agreement.
4. The job of each volunteer will be to be professional, courteous, and polite to all patrons. Volunteers will look official in “Protect Piping Plover” Hats and will be an important mechanism to keep patrons from entering protected shorebird areas. In many cases just being present is enough to deter anyone from crossing into protected habitats. On those extremely rare occasions where a difficult patron is encountered, a group leader will be there to assist. Volunteers are NOT law enforcement. These are the same hats we wore for the Memorial Day Airshow so if you're a returning steward and have your hat please bring it to save hats for new volunteers!
5. Volunteers are encouraged to enjoy a night at the beach and to enjoy the show. Although being “on duty” comes first, volunteers may bring beach chairs, blankets, umbrellas (if they can be secured), coolers and food. Family and friends are welcome, but please NO frisbees, balls, pets, or kites! Pets are not allowed, and all other items can cause problems for nesting birds.
6. Contacting everyone for an event of this size will be difficult. If the weather appears doubtful due to rain, fog or any other condition that would be unsuitable for the event, check the media and Eventbrite for announcements.

Piping Plovers are an endangered shorebird that migrate to Jones Beach every Summer to breed and raise their young. Areas that have important nesting and foraging habitat at Jones Beach are marked with orange string fence to keep patrons from disturbing them and other shorebirds.

Event Host

NYS Parks Long Island Environmental Education