Volunteer Application: Spring 2024
Lights Out Northeast Florida (LONF) is a partnership of the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens, Duval Audubon Society, and St. Johns Regional Audubon Society. We aim to inform local residents, business owners and elected officials about the dangers that bright lights at night pose to migrating birds. Each year, literally millions of birds die because bright lights cause them to fly off course into buildings. We are part of a larger, nationwide effort to influence building managers and homeowners to turn off excess lighting at night during the spring and fall bird migration seasons.

Central to this initiative is the need to know how many birds are being killed or injured in the downtown area during migration. This is where our team of volunteers plays such an important role. The LONF initiative needs volunteers to walk downtown areas during spring and fall migration and count birds that have either been killed or injured by window strikes. Specific routes and buildings will be assigned in order to identify potential problem areas. With sufficient data about bird fatalities/injuries, we will be able to have informed discussions with building managers and elected officials. The goal is to reduce nighttime lighting during peak migration months between the hours of 11 p.m. and 6 a.m.

If you wish to apply to volunteer for the Spring 2024 migration season (March 15 through May 15) to help monitor bird strikes in downtown Jacksonville, please complete the form below and we will get in touch with you soon.

Volunteering for Lights Out Northeast Florida involves walking an assigned route in downtown Jacksonville once a week in search of dead or injured birds. The walk will start at sunrise and go until the route is complete (about 1½ hours). Dead birds will be reported and photographed; additional details are provided in training sessions and videos and at onsite training sessions with experienced volunteers.

Training and all materials needed for the survey routes will be provided. However, volunteers will need to use their own cell phone to upload photos as needed to the reporting website.

Volunteers are asked to commit to attending the training session and/or viewing all available training videos, do one walk per week for the 8 weeks of migration, and to submit their data. All volunteers must be 18 or older and sign a release of liability.

More information about the Lights Out Northeast Florida initiative is available at https://www.jacksonvillezoo.org/Lights-Out.

We hope you will join us! Please contact LONF volunteer co-lead Mike Taylor at lightsoutnf@gmail.com or 904-563-3074 if you have any questions. 
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Are you applying for the Spring 2024 migration season? *
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Which day(s) of the week would you be available to volunteer? *
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Name *
Street address (include city, state & zip) *
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Have you volunteered previously? *
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If Yes, please briefly describe location and duties.
I understand that volunteering with Lights Out Northeast Florida may involve handling injured birds. *
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I understand that no photographs taken on the route can be published on any social media platform or otherwise shared outside of the Lights Out Northeast Florida initiative. *
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I am at least 18 years of age. *
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