🐐 Become a Goat Guardian on Maclellan Island​

Love goats? Want to volunteer in one of Chattanooga’s most unique natural spaces? Join our Maclellan Island Goat Volunteer Team and help care for the hardworking goats who are restoring this island’s ecosystem—one bite at a time. Our goats are friendly, curious, and essential to our conservation work, but they also need daily check-ins to ensure their safety and well-being. Volunteers like you help us keep them happy, healthy, and safe!

🧭 As a Goat Volunteer, your job is to perform a Goat Welfare Check—a simple but vital walkthrough that ensures everything is working as it should be. Each visit typically takes 30–45 minutes and includes:

• Checking in on the goats and their guardian dog
• Making sure their food and water needs are met
• Inspecting the electric fence and surveillance system
• Reporting any signs of illness or injury
• Clearing any debris that could interfere with the fence
• Documenting and reporting anything unusual

It’s a peaceful, hands-on experience in a beautiful setting—perfect for nature lovers and animal enthusiasts who want to make a real difference.

🎓 Before you’re authorized to volunteer, you must complete the following:

1. Register as a volunteer through the link below
2. Watch a short training video​

This ensures that everyone knows exactly what to do and how to keep both themselves and the goats safe. Once you’ve registered through the link below, we'll send you the link to the training video.

We're thrilled to announce that through a partnership with L2 Outside, we will be able to offer one-hour paddleboard and kayak rentals to our volunteers who are interested in goat check, but do not own their own watercraft. If you'd like to utilize L2's watercraft, they ask that you call a minimum of one-day ahead of your scheduled volunteer shift to reserve your watercraft and if possible, come between the hours of 7am-9am or 4pm-5pm.

sign up to be a volunteer