About: Volunteer

VOLUNTEER

Volunteer with New England Primate Conservancy, a lean, education-driven nonprofit working to protect one of the world’s most endangered groups of mammals through conservation education.

NEPC is powered by volunteers. The lessons, Primate Species Profiles, videos, and outreach materials that reach learners around the world are created, reviewed, and supported by individuals who generously contribute their time and expertise. Education is the heart of conservation — and our volunteers make that work possible.

Whether you are a writer, educator, researcher, editor, designer, video creator, or grant researcher, there are meaningful ways to apply your skills to wildlife protection and biodiversity education.

We do not have paid employment opportunities at this time. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer, please review the open positions below and email us with your interest and qualifications, as outlined in each listing.

No telephone inquiries, please.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

Project-Based Learning Developer – Conservation Education

New England Primate Conservancy (NEPC) is a biodiversity and wildlife conservation organization that advances conservation through educational resources and multimedia learning tools. Our work focuses on long-term, upstream impact—building conservation literacy, empathy, and informed action to protect primates and the ecosystems they share.

Primates and the Living Earth: Lessons in Biodiversity and Conservation is NEPC’s growing collection of original, project-based lessons and activities designed to help students understand how nature works and why biodiversity matters. Lessons are developed in-house to ensure scientific integrity, age-appropriate design, and alignment with current educational standards.

NEPC is seeking an experienced and creative educator to contribute to the continued development of our project-based learning materials for grades K–12 (or specific age groups within that range). These resources are published on the NEPC website and may include online components, printable materials, videos, slideshows, graphics, interactive tools, or downloadable activities.

This role begins with reviewing and strengthening selected existing lessons and activities to ensure alignment with NEPC’s instructional approach and evolving educational standards. This may include refining lesson structure, clarifying learning objectives, strengthening scaffolding, and enhancing overall academic rigor.

Following this review and enhancement phase, the volunteer will transition into developing new project-based learning materials.

Qualifications

    • Experience creating project-based educational content for K–12 learners
    • Strong written communication skills
    • Ability to translate complex conservation science into clear, engaging learning experiences
    • Experience aligning materials with STEM or STEAM standards is highly desirable
    • Familiarity with primatology, anthropology, environmental science, conservation issues, or related disciplines is beneficial

Experienced classroom teachers and educational content developers are especially encouraged to apply.

Position Details

    • Remote volunteer position
    • 10–20 hours per month (flexible; may vary during active development phases)
    • Collaboration via email and scheduled phone/video meetings
    • NEPC will provide access to appropriate digital tools and applications
    • A minimum of 3–5 years of professional experience in classroom teaching or curriculum development is required. Applicants should also demonstrate strong written communication skills and a proven ability to manage deadlines independently.

How to Apply

Please send a letter of interest and resume or CV to: debra@neprimateconservancy.org

EducationAL Content Coordinator

New England Primate Conservancy (NEPC) is a biodiversity and wildlife conservation organization that uses education and digital storytelling as its primary conservation strategy. Through free, accessible educational resources, NEPC helps learners understand the interconnectedness of life on Earth—and how protecting primates and ecosystems ultimately protects us all.

One of NEPC’s core education initiatives, Primates and the Living Earth: Lessons in Biodiversity and Conservation, offers project-based lessons and activities used by teachers, students, and families in the U.S. and internationally.

Role Overview

NEPC is seeking a Volunteer Education Content Coordinator to support the quality, clarity, and classroom-readiness of our educational lessons and activities.

This role is ideal for an experienced educator who has taught within the U.S. school system and understands how lessons function in real classrooms. Working collaboratively with NEPC leadership and volunteer Education Content Creators, the Coordinator helps shape educational ideas into teacher-friendly, standards-aligned lessons that are easy to implement in classroom settings.

This is a passion-driven, collaborative volunteer role focused on guidance, support, and educational stewardship.

In this role, you will:

    • Collaborate with volunteer Education Content Creators to support lesson development
    • Help translate educational ideas into clear, classroom-ready lessons
    • Review and refine lesson drafts for instructional clarity and usability
    • Prepare educator-facing components such as learning goals, grade ranges, and standards alignment
    • Help establish shared timelines and gentle structure to support progress
    • Occasionally develop original lessons or review existing lessons for updates

You may be a strong fit if you:

    • Have hands-on teaching experience in U.S. K–12 classrooms
    • Are comfortable working with educational standards in practice
    • Enjoy supporting others through thoughtful, constructive feedback
    • Care deeply about education, conservation, and collaborative work

Time Commitment & Logistics

    • Time commitment: ~10–20 hours per month (flexible)
    • Location: Remote; applicants must be based in the United States
    • Collaboration: Email and occasional virtual meetings
    • Support: NEPC provides access to relevant tools and platforms
    • Age Requirement: 28+

As the Education Content Coordinator, you’ll help ensure that conservation education is not only inspiring, but also practical and usable for teachers. This is an opportunity to apply your professional experience in service of biodiversity conservation while collaborating with a thoughtful, mission-driven community of volunteers.

Email a letter of interest describing your relevant grant experience, along with your resume or CV: debra@neprimateconservancy.org

experienced grant writer/PROSPECTOR

New England Primate Conservancy (NEPC) seeks a grant writer to support foundation prospecting and proposal customization for our conservation education and wildlife protection work.

NEPC is a biodiversity and wildlife conservation organization that uses education and digital storytelling as its primary conservation strategy. Our work focuses on long-term, upstream impact—building conservation literacy, empathy, and informed action to protect primates and the ecosystems they share.

This role is well-suited to someone who is already familiar with the rhythms and realities of grant work and is interested in applying that experience in a mission-driven context. We work with established narratives and strategy and value thoughtful collaboration, sound judgment, and clear communication.

Because this role involves U.S. private and family foundations, applicants must be based in the United States and familiar with the U.S. grant funding landscape.

What this role involves:

    • Researching private and family foundations aligned with wildlife conservation, biodiversity, climate, and environmental education
    • Assessing alignment beyond surface-level category matches
    • Customizing existing proposal narratives for individual funders
    • Tracking prospects and application status

This role may be a good fit if you:

    • Have prior experience with grant writing or grant research for nonprofits
    • Understand that grant work is iterative and often long-arc
    • Are comfortable working independently while collaborating closely with organizational leadership
    • Value collaboration and thoughtful iteration in a mission-driven environment

This is a remote volunteer position, with communication via email and occasional phone or Zoom meetings with the president and management staff.

Minimum age 25. Must be located in the US.
Hours per week are negotiable. We’ll work with your schedule.

Please email a letter of interest describing your relevant grant experience, along with your resume or CV: debra@neprimateconservancy.org

Calling All Nonhuman Primate Experts! Fact-Checker Needed

NEPC’s celebrated Primate Species Profiles series is the most accessed section of the NEPC website, featuring profiles of more than four hundred primate species, with an objective to profile all 522 species. Each month, we introduce new species to the series while also rewriting profiles that are 5 to 6 years old to include the latest news, census data, ecological impacts, species classifications, and behavioral discoveries.

Depending on various factors, our global team of content contributors completes 8 to 12 profiles per month. The fact-checking process will be a shared responsibility. Although the time required may decrease with experience, we estimate approximately 10 hours per month for this task.

Accuracy is paramount. These profiles are utilized by students and educators from elementary school through university levels, as well as beyond, for projects, reports, and curriculum planning. They are frequently cited across various platforms, including online sources, social media, print publications, nature magazines, television programming, children’s publications, authors, blogs, national news agencies, science museums, and conservation groups

If you possess extensive knowledge about a wide range of primate genera, I would like to discuss this opportunity with you. With additional fact-checkers, we can engage more writers and provide enhanced resources to the 7.5 million readers who rely on NEPC for comprehensive information about our nonhuman primate counterparts. Please note, we are seeking individuals who already have the requisite knowledge for effective and efficient fact-checking, not those looking to learn more.

    • Commitment Details: 10 hours per week
    • Recurrence: Recurring
    • Age Requirement: 25+

Other Requirements: Perfect command of the English language. Expertise in nonhuman primates.

Updated: March 2026