Ways to Get Involved

Discover for yourself what tens of thousands of volunteers have learned: Volunteering for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is fun and rewarding in many ways. Master new skills. Meet new friends. Enjoy a sense of accomplishment from doing your part to further wildlife conservation for the pleasure of generations to follow. 

Volunteering

Niva Hoffman, a volunteer at Edenton NFH, inserts Visible Elastomer Tag into Gopher Frog.
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Edenton NFH offers spring/summer and fall student internships.  These internships are typically for 2-3 months. 

Deadlines:

Spring/summer interns: Feb. 28th

Fall interns: July 1st

Purpose: To give students hands on experience as to what it is like to work at a USFWS National Fish Hatchery.  Students will learn what is involved with raising fish and maintaining a hatchery.

Housing/scholarship:

Internships are unpaid.  Housing is provided, but the intern(s) will need to provide their own transportation.  Upon successful completion of our internship, our partner, the NC Marine and Estuary Foundation, will provide a $1500 scholarship.

Duties:

Interns will work a 40 hour week, some weekend duty may be required.  Some of the duties inculde fish culture (feeding, cleaning tanks/raceways, water quality testing) as well as facilities maintenance (mowing, cleaning, painting, etc).  Interns must be at least 18 years of age. If  you have questions, would like more information, or to apply please email Sonia Mumford, Hatchery Manager, at sonia_mumford@fws.gov. To apply, please send your resume along with the names and contact information for three references to sonia_mumford@fws.gov or mail your application to 1102 W. Queen Street, Edenton, NC 27932. 

Our Partners

Partnerships foster creative solutions to challenging situations and often the results are greater than the sum of the parts.  Learn more about our local partners:

  1. North Carolina Department of Marine Fisheries, http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/mf/url
  2. Chowan Edenton Environmental Group, https://www.chowanedentonenvironmentalgroup.org/
  3. Chowan-Edenton Optimist Club, https://chowan-edenton-optimist-club.myfreesites.net/
  4. North Carolina Marine & Estuary Foundation, https://www.ncmefoundation.org/

Outreach

Edenton NFH staff can be spotted at numerous community events and in our local schools and libraries.  Deputy Manager Sam Pollock coordinates our outreach activities. The hatchery hosts a public kids fishing derby during National Fishing and Boating Week, and other smaller fishing derbies for kids groups such as the Girls and Boys Club and 4H groups.  Most of our outreach events are on hold due to COVID19.