We are very lucky to have such a caring, committed group of people ranging from university students to retirees. Our volunteers will make you feel very welcome and valued. Our volunteers are a very special part of the Marine Discovery Centre. Through their personal contributions to support our visitors and their learning, assisting with cleaning and maintenance of our aquariums and the Centre we have been able to offer a very high-quality experience.
A lot of our student volunteers are able to gain valuable experience in the fields of marine biology, environment, and education which then lead to paid employment opportunities.
We also have annual volunteer thank you days which include the following experiences:
Please contact us: 08 8115 7402 or info@marinediscoverycentre.com.au.
We encourage you to come along and observe for a couple of times before you join us.
You will need to get a Catholic Education Police Clearance which is free and we assist you with this process.
You will also receive a Volunteer Handbook.
We have an outstanding group of volunteers who help run our school excursions and keep the Centre's aquariums looking their best.
There are a couple of options to volunteer at the Marine Discovery Centre, the centre is open to school groups from Tuesday to Friday and daily during the school holidays. You can join a school tour for their marine trail from 10.30am - 12pm or for the centre activities from 12.30pm to 2pm. Some of our volunteers stay for the whole day and you can do that too.
Volunteering at the Marine Discovery Centre is a wonderful opportunity for you to empower students to actively protect South Australia's iconic coastal and marine environments.
Opportunities are also available to attend quarterly Science Fairs where you represent the Marine Discovery Centre
Meet some of our volunteers here>
A day in the life of a volunteer at the Marine Discovery Centre
Catholic Police Clearance
The Marine Discovery Centre is connected to the Star of the Sea school, therefore all volunteers need to complete a Catholic Police Clearance and the Responding to Abuse and Neglect (RAN) certificate. We can provide you with the relevant paperwork to complete this.
Once you have this clearance you are able to accompany children at the Marine Discovery Centre.
Volunteer requirements
Before being placed on the Marine Discovery Centre’s Volunteer Register we require all our volunteers to complete the following steps:
Collect a Volunteers Pack from the Marine Discovery Centre or the Star of the Sea Front Office
Complete/read and sign off on all forms in the pack
100 points of proof of identity must be presented to Carmen Bishop at the Marine Discovery Centre (or a front office staff member at the Star of the Sea school) and one form of identification must contain a photograph
All volunteers at the Marine Discovery Centre must hold a current certificate for Responding to Abuse and Neglect or equivalent. This training is available online. https://www.plink.sa.edu.au/pages/signup.jsf Please select “Volunteer”, then the relevant location. We recommend using Google Chrome web browser to access and complete this training due to compatibility issues.
Before you begin, ensure the computer you are using is attached to a working printer, as a certificate will be generated at the end of the training and cannot be saved electronically. Alternatively, you can email your certificate to cbishop@star.catholic.edu.au. Once you have completed the training and printed your certificate, please bring the original to the Marine Discovery Centre to be signed and copied.
