Volunteers are needed to help the organizations that care for the wild horses on Shackleford Banks and Rachel Carson Reserve raise community awareness during the busy season.
Cape Lookout National Seashore, the North Carolina Coastal Reserve and National Estuarine Research Reserve and the Foundation for Shackleford Horses Inc. have joined efforts for the second year to offer the volunteer program dubbed “Pony Patrol.”
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Interested candidates can apply online through Friday, Feb. 21. The positions will be competitive because there are limited spots available. Those selected will be contacted for an interview in early March, organizers said.
Those selected will go through training before walking the Rachel Carson Reserve in Beaufort, Shackleford Banks, which is part of Cape Lookout, or both locations to talk with visitors about how to best experience wild horses in their natural habitat and understand “the importance of giving wild horses space to be ‘wild’,” according to the release.
Candidates must be at least 18 years old, a United States citizen or permanent resident. Volunteers will be expected to work three- to four-hour shifts, at least three times per month, and must be able to walk the islands’ sandy terrain, and tolerate the extremely sunny, hot humid, windy and buggy environments.
Volunteers in 2024 conducted 254 patrols and interacted with more than 3,800 visitors.
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