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The Nature Conservancy in Illinois Illinois Contact Places We Protect Field Trips & Events Press Releases Volunteer Ways of Giving |
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Volunteer Monitoring Opportunities
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 Chicago Wilderness (CW) Volunteer, Elizabeth Plonka, measures the circumference of an ash tree at Half Day Forest Preserve in Lake County for the 2003 Woods Audit © Karen Glennemeier |
Are you interested in ....
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helping to monitor the health of Illinois' rivers, prairies, forests, and native species?
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joining a team of trained volunteers in tracking the condition of our state's natural areas?
If so, you will find below a list of volunteer monitoring opportunities available in Illinois along with web links and main contact information.
The Habitat Project
The Habitat Project is a network of volunteers and staff who monitor and protect birds, frogs, insects and plants in the regional nature reserve called Chicago Wilderness. For more information, visit their website at www.habitatproject.org
2008 Plants of Concern - A Rare Plant Monitoring Program
Saturday, April 5 Volo Bog (Ingleside, Lake County)
Thursday, April 17 Midewin Tallgrass Prairie (Joliet, Will County)
Sunday, April 27 Chicago Botanic Garden (Glencoe, Cook County)
Listed below is the 2008 schedule for the Dragonfly Monitoring Network Workshops. Each monitor has a monitoring site; the site can be anyplace where dragonflies occur. At the site, the monitor has a route; the monitor follows the route on a regular basis, recording the number of each dragonfly species encountered. With a few exceptions, dragonflies are active from late May/early June, to well into September. The target number of monitor site visits during this period is six; however, during some years, six visits are not convenient or practical, and fewer visits are made. That is fine. Some monitors make many more than six visits to their sites; that, too, is fine. Monitors are welcome to select their own sites. If a monitor does not have a site in mind, he or she is encouraged to discuss options with a local forest preserve district, or other people involved with the environment, locally. Taking into account that the target number of visits is six, it is recommended that monitors find geographically convenient sites (i.e., close to home, close to work). There is no minimum or maximum site size. Likewise, there is no minimum or maximum route length, within a site; however, it is desirable that a route comes in contact with each habitat type at a site. Some monitors finish their routes in less than half-an-hour; other monitors are on their routes for as long as four hours. Some monitors have one site; some have several sites. All monitoring is valued and appreciated.
RSVP appreciated, but not required (RSVP is required at Peggy Notebaert in order to have the museum entrance fee waived.) To RSVP or for questions, please contact Craig Stettner at cstettne@harpercollege.edu or (847) 925-6214
Saturday, April 5, 10:00 - 1:00
Harper College, 1200 W. Algonquin Rd., Palatine, IL 60067, www.harpercollege.eduhttp://www.chias.org/
Grounds & Resource Facitlity (FPDDC), 29 W220 Mack Road, West Chicago
Saturday, April 12, 8:30 A.M. - 11:30 A.M.
Sugar Creek Administration Center (FPDWC), 17540 West Laraway Road, Joliet, Illinois 60433
Saturday, April 19, 10:00 - 1:00
McHenry County College, 8900 US Hwy 14, Crystal Lake, http://www.mchenry.edu/
Friday, April 25, Time to be Determined
College of Lake County, 19351 West Washington Street, Grayslake, http://www.clcillinois.edu/
Saturday, April 26, 10:00 - 1:00
Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, 2430 N Cannon Dr., Chicago, IL 60614
Sign up for StreamLeaders 2008!
What: Water trail stewardship and stream restoration training, including an introduction to the use of a new field guide to the freshwater mussels of Chicago Wilderness.
When: Saturday April 19 (water trail stewardship), Saturday May 3 (mussel field guide), and Saturday May 10 (stream restoration). All days run from 10:00am to 4:00pm
Where: St. Charles Park District’s Pottawatomie Community Center, 8 North Avenue, St. Charles, Illinois
Venture out onto the Fox River in canoes or kayaks and learn how to improve the Fox River Water Trail by adopting a stretch and monitoring it. Learn how freshwater mussels can be used to monitor long term trends in stream and river quality and how to begin to identify the different species in the Chicago Wilderness area. All participants will receive a copy of the new Field Guide to the Freshwater Mussels of Chicago Wilderness and wade into Ferson Creek to do a mussel survey. Learn how human modifications to watersheds can degrade creeks and what steps can be taken to restore them. Visit a stream remeandering project on Indian Creek. There is a $40 fee for the course. Scholarships are available for participants to whom the fee presents a hardship and we ask participants to choose a follow-up volunteer activity and commit to 15 hours of follow-up volunteering. Enrollment is limited so register early! To register call Laura Barghusen, Associate Greenways Director at Openlands at 312-863-6253 or e-mail her at
lbarghusen@openlands.org Sponsored by Openlands in partnership with Illinois Department of Natural Resources, John G. Shedd Aquarium, Illinois Paddling Council, and Living Waters Consultants. Space provided by St. Charles Park District and The Forest Preserve District of Kane County
Illinois RiverWatch Network: Citizen Scientist Training Workshop
Saturday, April 5, 2008 from 9 am – 4 pm
Did you know there is less than 1% of available fresh water on Earth? Have you heard that thousands of miles of streams and rivers in Illinois are impaired by pollutants? Fresh water is a scarce resource and it is our responsibility to protect it for ourselves and future generations. The Illinois RiverWatch program offers Illinois citizens the opportunity to become involved in the stewardship of the state’s rivers and streams. RiverWatch certified volunteers, or Citizen Scientists, play an important role in helping identify potentially degraded waters and areas that may need better protection. Citizen scientists examine indicators of water quality like stream habitat and the diversity of species such as dragonfly nymphs, beetle larva, midges and snails.
This interactive workshop will give you the tools to test water quality like a professional. During the lab session, we will discuss monitoring procedures and learn to identify stream critters. Afterwards, we will drive to a nearby stream to practice proper monitoring techniques. Equipment will be provided so everyone can partake in the training. Please bring knee-high boots or waders, sun block, insect repellent, a water bottle, and lunch. After completing the workshop, you may adopt a local stream site and monitor annually. For more information visit www.ngrrec.org/river_watchcitizen.htm or contact Vera Bojic at 618-468-4870 or vbojic@lc.edu.
2008 Illinois Butterfly Monitoring Network Training Workshops
The Illinois Butterfly Monitoring Network is a citizen scientist program begun in 1987 to monitor the health of the state’s butterfly populations. This is a multi-year project for adults. If you think you might be interested, we strongly suggest you go to www.bfly.org and click on the link About Us/How to Join. This will give you all the information on what it means to be an IBMN butterfly monitor, and a form to fill out to apply to the network. We have trainers presenting workshops this year. We hope you can join us.
Beginner's Training Workshop
Strongly recommended for new monitors.
This workshop is being presented three times this year. You only need to attend one of the sessions. Each session is the same.
The workshop is broken into two parts. Part One is an orientation covering all the details on how to monitor. Part Two teaches how to look at butterflies for identification and goes over the markings of 25 common species. The entire workshop, covering both parts, will run 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
Session One Presented by: Tom Peterson
Location: Fermilab, West Chicago, DuPage County
Date and time: Saturday, April 12, 2008, 10 AM
Session Two Presented by: Doug Taron
Location: Notebaert Nature Museum, Chicago, Cook County
Date and time: Saturday, April 19, 2008, 9:30 AM
Session Three Presented by: Mel Manner
Location: Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, Wilmington, Will County
Date and time: Saturday, May 17, 2008, 12 PM
Intermediate’s Training Workshop
Recommended for monitors with some identification experience, although new monitors may also attend. Only one session in 2008. The workshop is broken into two parts. Part One is "Improving your Data" and data entry methods. Part Two is the identification marks of 32 species of butterflies. Several Beginner’s Checklist species were used as springboards to groups of related species. Some species of swallowtails, sulphurs, coppers, hairstreaks, checkerspots, fritillaries, and skippers will be covered. The workshop, covering both parts, will run 2 1/2 to 3 hours.
Session Presented by: Tom Peterson
Location: Fermilab, West Chicago, DuPage County
Date and time: Saturday, June 7, 2008, 10:00 AM
Optional Tour: Weather permitting, Tom will lead a tour after the workshop for those interested. Only open to workshop participants.
Registration Required: Register with Mel Manner at 847-464-4426 or ibmn@sbcglobal.net. Directions and meeting locations will be sent to all registrants.
2008 New Invaders Watch Program Workshops
The New Invaders Watch Program, a partnership of government, non-profit, and volunteer organizations dedicated to the early detection and control of new exotic invasive plant and insect species in the Chicago Wilderness (CW) region will be holding a series of trainings for the program during 2008. For a schedule, please see below or visit the New Invaders Watch Web site at http://www.newinvaders.org/ and click on "Training Sessions 2008" on the left side of the screen.
Plants of Concern and New Invaders Watch Program Training
Location: Volo Bog State Natural Area,Visitor Center
Date: 4/5/2008 from 9:30 AM – 3:00 PM
Contact: Debbie Maurer, dmaurer@co.lake.il.us
Special Notes: This is the Plants of Concern annual training program. Participants should have interest in participating in the Plants of Concern Program, visit http://www.plantsofconcern.org
New Invaders Watch Program Training
Location: Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, Wilmington, IL (Will Cty)
Date: 4/12/2008 from 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Contact: Debbie Maurer, dmaurer@co.lake.il.us
Special Notes: We will meet in the Welcome Center at Midewin Headquarters.
Plants of Concern and New Invaders Watch Program Training
Location: Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, Wilmington, IL (Will Cty)
Date: 4/17/2008 from 9:30 AM – 3:00 PM
Contact: Debbie Maurer, dmaurer@co.lake.il.us
Special Notes: This is the Plants of Concern annual training program. Participants should have interest in participating in the Plants of Concern Program, visit http://www.plantsofconcern.org
Plants of Concern and New Invaders Watch Program Training
Location: Chicago Botanic Garden (Cook Cty)
Date: 4/27/2008 from 9:30 AM – 3:00 PM
Contact: Debbie Maurer, dmaurer@co.lake.il.us
Special Notes: This is the Plants of Concern annual training program. Participants should have interest in participating in the Plants of Concern Program, visit http://www.plantsofconcern.org
New Invaders Watch Program Training, Park District of Highland Park
Location: Highland Park, IL (Lake Cty)
Date: 6/3/2008 from TBD
Contact: Rebecca Grill, rgrill@pdhp.org
New Invaders Watch Program Training
Location: The Morton Arboretum, Special Events Room of the Visitor Center (DuPage Cty)
Date: 7/14/2008 from 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM
Contact: Kurt Dreisilker, kdreisilker@mortonarb.org
Special Notes: Must RSVP by 7/10/2008
New Invaders Watch Program Training; Weeds and What We Do About Them:
Invasive Plant Management Workshop
Location: McHenry County Conference Center in Glacial Park, McHenry County Conservation District
Date: 9/27/2008 from 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Contact: Laurie Boldt for NIWP Training Information, 815-653-2297 x21
Tom Simpson for Workshop Information, 815-678-7644
