Over 1,200 volunteers counted 4,325 humpback whales across the three 2026 Sanctuary Ocean Count dates. Joining one takes a single Saturday morning, 8am to noon. That’s the low end of volunteering here: the ten programs on this page run up to multi-day service trips into Hakalau Forest, with plenty of one-morning options in between.
Every program on the list is open to visitors, and the ʻĀina Hoʻōla fishpond sessions take children from age 7. Check each program’s link before you plan a trip day around a volunteer slot.
For a longer list, see VolunteerAlly and the GoHawaii volunteering page.
Volunteer on other islands: have a look at our thoughts on ecotourism on Hawaiʻi to learn about volunteering and ecotourism experiences on Maui, Kauaʻi, and Oʻahu.
Humpback Whale Count: Volunteer for One Saturday
The Sanctuary Ocean Count runs on the last Saturday of January, February, and March, from 8am to noon at shoreline sites on the Big Island, Oʻahu, Kauaʻi, and Molokaʻi. Volunteers count whales and log their surface behavior; across the three 2026 dates, more than 1,200 volunteers tallied 4,325 whales. Registration is per person and opens at noon HST on the first Monday of each count’s month, closing two weeks before the count, so set a reminder.
Read more about volunteering and saving the whales on Hawaiʻi.
Volunteer to Restore the Keaukaha Fishponds
The ʻĀina Hoʻōla Initiative restores wetland habitat for endangered native waterbirds at Lokowaka Pond in Keaukaha, across the road from Kealoha Beach Park in Hilo. Volunteer sessions run several times a month, most often Saturday mornings from 8:45am to 12:15pm: pulling invasive plants and replanting natives, free, with kids welcome from age 7. Bring work gloves and a change of clothes, and stay out of the water work if you have any open cuts.
Dates and the sign-up form are on the ʻĀina Hoʻōla Initiative website.
ʻĀina Hoʻōla volunteers at work along Lokowaka Pond in Keaukaha. Image credit: ʻĀina Hoʻōla Initiative website.
Volunteer at the Volcano Art Center
The Volcano Art Center takes volunteers as forest docents and stewards at its Niaulani campus in Volcano Village, plus gallery greeters inside the national park and event help. Start with the volunteer manual and application on their volunteering page.
Volunteer at the Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge
Friends of Hakalau Forest runs occasional multi-day service trips into the refuge, mostly 4 to 5 weekdays at a time with groups of 6 to 12: out-planting native trees, greenhouse work, and cabin upkeep. Members hear about trips first through the newsletter, and the refuge sits a 90-plus-minute drive from either Hilo or Kona, so this one takes planning. Details on their volunteer page.
Become a ReefTeacher at Kahaluʻu Bay
Kahaluʻu Beach Park holds one of the busiest snorkel bays on the Kona side, and the Kohala Center’s ReefTeach program stations volunteers there to teach visitors respect for the bay’s natural and cultural resources, the coral first among them. The ReefTeach page carries the sign-up form.
Volunteer at the Sierra Club
Moku Loa, the Sierra Club’s Hawaiʻi Island group, runs hikes and service outings around this island. Raise your hand through the Sierra Club of Hawaiʻi volunteer form, and their newsletter is how you hear about service days early.
Hawksbill Turtle Recovery and Kaʻū Beach Cleanups
The Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund’s hawksbill turtle recovery work centers on the May to October nesting season: morning beach patrols for tracks, plus nest and hatchling watches, mostly on Maui with work on Hawaiʻi Island too. On the Big Island the fund also runs monthly community beach cleanups in Kaʻū and coastal restoration workdays, on remote coastline that takes a 4WD or a long rough walk to reach.
The calendar and RSVP instructions are on the Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund volunteer page.
Volunteer at the Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park (NPS VIP Program)
The easiest way in is Stewardship at the Summit, a drop-in invasive-ginger removal workday inside the park: dates are on the park calendar, and you meet at the Kīlauea Visitor Center parking area. Loppers and gloves are provided. Longer-term Volunteer-In-Parks (VIP) placements put you in the visitor center or the field; the park’s volunteering page has the contacts, or watch the 5-minute video below.
Volunteer with the Friends of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park (Nonprofit)
Volunteers with Friends of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park (FHVNP) help restore native koa and ʻōhiʻa forest, from seed collection to seedling planting, and lend a hand at field seminars and public events.
The group’s stated mission is to “support the National Park Service in the protection, preservation, and interpretation of the natural and cultural resources at Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park for the enjoyment of current and future generations”. There is no fixed schedule: email them through the volunteer page with your skills and they’ll find you a role.
Removing invasive species from the Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park. Image credit: C. Johnson / FHVNP
Volunteer at the Puʻukoholā Heiau National Historic Site
The park takes help for an hour, a day, a week, or longer, in its own words, and the one volunteer role it names outright is photography. Start at the park’s volunteer page.