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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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Illinois
Volunteer Stewardship Network Groups
Meet a VSN Group
Collecting Native Seed at a Kane County Volunteer Fall Workday Forest Preserve District of Kane CountyWeekly, from mid-October until mid-November, the seed harvest volunteers, known as our "Seed Team," gather to collect native plant seeds. More about the Forest Preserve District of Kane County Volunteers |
Northern Illinois
Bartel Grassland Volunteers
This group coordinates volunteer workdays at the Bartel Grassland Preserve in
Beaubien
This group coordinates volunteer workdays near
Chicago Park District
The Chicago Park District provides a variety of volunteer stewardship opportunities at several sites in Cook county. Check their website at Chicago Park District for a full schedule and updates. Or for more information please contact Becky Schillo becky.schillo@chicagoparkdistrict.com.
Citizens for Conservation
This group coordinates volunteer workdays at several sites in Cook and Lake counties. Check their website at http://www.CitizensForConservation.org/ for a full schedule and updates. Or for more information please contact the Citizens for Conservation at (847) 382-7283 or cfc@CitizensforConservation.org
Crystal Lake Park District
The Crystal Lake Park District coordinates volunteer workdays at Sterne’s Fen and Wingate Prairie Nature Preserve in McHenry county. Check their website at http://www.crystallakeparks.org/ for a full schedule and updates. Or for more information please contact John Fiorina at (815) 455-1763 or jfiorina@crystallakeparks.org.
Deer Grove Natural Areas Volunteers
This group coordinates volunteer workdays at the Deer Grove Forest Preserve in Cook county. Check their website at http://deergrove.freehostia.com/ for a full schedule and updates. Or for more information please contact Pete Jackson (847) 577-4438 or beepjackson@sbcglobal.net or Ron Vargason at (847) 398-1853 or barbandron@wowway.com.
Des Plaines River Valley Volunteers
This group coordinates volunteer workdays at several sites in Cook county. Check their website at http://www.restoringnature.org/ for a full schedule and updates. Or for more information please contact Dave Lloyd at (708) 485-2296 or davelloyd@mindspring.com or Barbara Birmingham at (708) 386-0579 or BarbBirm@aol.com.
DuPage Volunteer Stewardship Group
This group coordinates volunteer workdays at several sites in DuPage county. Check their website for a full schedule and updates. Or for more information please contact Cindy Hedges at (630) 876-5929 or chedges@dupageforest.com.
Friends of Dan Ryan Woods
Join us every second Saturday of each month for our monthly stewardship event on Chicago’s southwest side. Help remove invasive alien plants, collect seeds, and cleanup the preserve so native flora and fauna can thrive. Meet at the parking lot on the east side of South Western Avenue at 8900 South at 9 am. For more information contact Benjamin Cox at 773-398-1178 or benjamin@fotfp.org.
Friends of the Bluff Spring Fen
This group coordinates volunteer workdays in Cook county. Visit our website at www.bluffspringfen.org. For more information please contact Mel and Rick Manner at (847) 464-4426 or bluffspringfen@sbcglobal.net.
Friends of Indian Boundary Prairies
This group coordinates volunteer workdays at Indian Boundary Prairies in Cook county. For more information please contact Pat Brownlow at (708) 333-2549 or hbrownlow@juno.com.
Friends of the Lower North Branch
Join us every third Saturday of each month for our monthly stewardship event on Chicago’s northwest side. Help remove invasive alien plants, collect seeds, and cleanup the preserve so native flora and fauna can thrive. For more information contact Bill Koenig at (773) 631-0237 or wkoenig@cookcountygov.com.
Friends of Trout Park
This group coordinates volunteer workdays at Trout Park Nature Preserve in Kane county. For more information please contact Sue Bohne at (847) 697-4929.
Forest Preserve District of Kane County
This group coordinates volunteer workdays at several sites in Kane county. Check their website www.kaneforest.com for a full schedule and updates. Or for more information please call Julia Bourque at (630) 762-2741 or VolunteerForest@kaneforest.com
Fox Valley Land Foundation
The Fox Valley Land Foundation coordinates volunteer workdays at several sites in McHenry county. For more information, check their website at http://www.fvlf.org or call (847) 888-1897.
Golfview Hills Park District
The Golfview Hills Park District coordinates volunteer workdays at the Golfview Prairie in DuPage county. Check their website at Golfview Hills PD for a full schedule and updates. Or for more information please contact Alexander Green at (630) 986-5504.
Iroquois/Kankakee Volunteers
This group coordinates workdays at several sites in Kankakee and Iroquois counties. For more information please contact John Baxter at (815) 939-6102 or John.Baxter@cognis.com.
Itasca-Spring Brook Nature Center RSVP volunteers
This volunteer group helps to restore 67 acres of prairie, riparian woods, sedge meadow and marsh. No experience required. Tools and gloves provided. Great volunteer opportunity for families, scout groups, and corporate community service. Call Bill for more information at 630-773-5572, or go to this website for workday calendar.
Lake County Natural Area Volunteers
This group coordinates volunteer workdays at several sites in Lake county. Check their website at http://www.lcfpd.org/ for a full schedule and updates. For more information please contact Tom Smith at (847) 968-3329 or tasmith@co.lake.il.us.
Land Conservancy of McHenry County
This group offers volunteer stewardship activities at a variety of sites throughout McHenry County, every second Saturday of the month from 9am until noon. Check their website for each month's location at www.conservemc.org or call Linda Balek at (815) 337-9502 or lbalek@conservemc.org for more information.
McHenry County Natural Areas Volunteers
This group coordinates volunteer workdays at several sites in McHenry county. For more information please contact Dan Wilson at (815) 648-2389 or DanWil726@aol.com or Barb Wilson at (847) 658-0024 or LITHFEN@aol.com.
McHenry County Conservation District
The McHenry County Conservation District coordinates volunteer workdays at several sites in McHenry county. Check their website at http://www.mccdistrict.org for a full schedule and updates. Or for more information please call (815) 338-6223.
Midewin Tallgrass Prairie Volunteers
This group coordinates volunteer workdays at the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie in for a full schedule and updates. Or for more information please contact Chris Pratt at (815) 423-2148 or cpratt@tnc.org
Nachusa Grasslands Preserve
The Nature Conservancy coordinates volunteer workdays at the Nachusa Grasslands Preserve in Lee/Ogle county. For more information contact Bill Kleiman at (815) 456-2340 or bkleiman@tnc.org.
North Branch Restoration Project
This group coordinates volunteer workdays at several sites in Cook county. Check their website at http://www.northbranchrestoration.org for a full schedule and updates. Or for more information please contact Jane Balaban at (847) 679-4289 or balx2@comcast.net.
North Park Village Nature Center
The Chicago Park District's North Park Village Nature Center in Cook county coordinates workdays at the North Park Village Nature Center. Check their website for a full schedule and updates. Or for more information please contact Julie Sacco at (312) 744-5478 or julianne.sacco@chicagoparkdistrict.com.
Orland Grassland Volunteers
This group coordinates volunteer workdays at the Orland Grassland Preserve in Cook County. Orland Grassland Preserve is located at 167th street just west of LaGrange Road, in Orland Park. For more information see www.orlandgrassland.org or call Pat Hayes at (708) 460-8270 or ptihys@yahoo.com.
Old Plank Road Trail Association
This group coordinates volunteer workdays along the Old Plank Road Trail in Cook and Will counties. Check their website at http://oprt.org/ for a full schedule and updates. Or for more information please contact Richard Wachenheim at (815) 722-8191 or prairiewizard@hotmail.com.
Palos Restoration Project
This group coordinates volunteer workdays at several sites in Cook county. For more information please contact Roger Keller at (708) 598-2234 or rkeller361@comcast.net.
Park District of Highland Park – Natural Area Volunteers
This group coordinates workdays at Highland Park in Lake county. For more information please contact Rebecca Grill at (847) 681-2189 or rgrill@pdhp.org.
Poplar Creek Prairie Stewards
This group coordinates volunteer workdays at the Poplar Creek Forest Preserve in Cook county. Check their website at www.poplarcreekprairiestewards.org for a full schedule and updates. Or for more information please contact Jill Flexman at (847) 836-7443 or flexfolks@comcast.net.
Quad City Natural Area Guardians (QCNAGS)
The Quad City Natural Area Guardians is a group of volunteers who engage in hands-on stewardship of many sites in the Quad City area. Activities include performing prescribed burns, habitat restoration, seed collection, and educational activities. For further information contact Beth Carvey-Stewart at haubergmusuem@aol.com or at (309) 788-9536.
St. Charles Park District
The St. Charles Park District coordinates volunteer workdays at several sites in for a full schedule and updates. Or for more information please call (630) 513-3338.
West Chicago Prairie Stewardship Group
This group coordinates volunteer workdays at the West Chicago Prairie in for a full schedule and updates. Or for more information please visit their web site at www.wcpsg.org or contact Steve Sentoff at (630) 293-1627 or shsentoff@comcast.net.
Will County Natural Area Volunteers
This group coordinates volunteer workdays at several sites in Will county. Check their website for a full schedule and updates. Or for more information please contact Richard Wachenheim at (815) 722-8191 prairiewizard@hotmail.com.
Central Illinois
Embarras Volunteer Stewards
This group coordinates volunteer workdays at several sites in Coles, Cumberland, Clark, Douglas, Edgar, Effingham, Fayette, Moultrie, and Shelby counties. Check their website for a full schedule and updates. Or for more information please contact Larry Thorsen at (217) 345-6476 or thors@cmecwildblue.com.
Funks Grove Volunteers
This group coordinates volunteer workdays at Funks Grove in McLean county. For more information, please contact Don Schmidt at (309) 828-5247 or djschmi@ilstu.edu.
Jubilee Prairie Dawgs
This volunteer group coordinates workdays at Jubilee State Park in Peoria county. For more information please Doug Franks at (309) 691-7993 or doug.franks@insightbb.com.
ParkLands Foundation
This group coordinates volunteer workdays at several sites in McLean, Woodford, and Ford counties. Check their website at http://www.parklands.org for a full schedule and updates. Or for more information please contact Jason Shoemaker (309) 531-7065 or shoemaj@hotmail.com.
Peoria Wilds
This group coordinates volunteer workdays and monitoring opportunities at several sites in Peoria county. Check their website for a full schedule and updates. Or for more information please contact Michael Brown at michaelbrown@bwsys.net.
Grand Prairie Friends
This group coordinates volunteer workdays at several sites in Champaign, Ford, Iroquois, Piatt and Vermillion counties. Check their website for a full schedule and updates. Or for more information please contact Brenda Molano-Flores at molano@inhs.uiuc.edu or Paul Marcum at pmarcum@inhs.uiuc.edu.
Sangamon Valley Volunteers
This group coordinates volunteer workdays and monitoring opportunities in Macon and DeWitt counties. 5/13 workday at Calamus Lake 9:00 AM. 5/20 Audubon Breakfast at Rock Springs Center 8:00 AM. 5/20 brush removal at Bois du Sangamon 9:00 AM. For more information please contact Norm Jensen at (217) 429-3400 or nhj0211@aol.com or contact the Macon County Conservation District at (217) 423-7708.
Shoal Creek Volunteers
This group coordinates volunteer workdays at the Shoal Creek Conservation Area in Montgomery county. For more information please contact Henry Eilers at (217) 324-3410 or heilers@consolidated.net.
St. Mary’s Cemetery Prairie Volunteers
This group coordinates volunteer workdays at the St. Mary’s Cemetery and the District Hill Prairie in Peoria county. For more information please contact David Pittman at (309) 673-6438 or dvdpttmn@aol.com.
Southern Illinois
Big Rivers Alliance of Volunteer Organizations
The mission of the Big Rivers Alliance of Volunteer Organizations (BRAVO) is to give concerend citizens the training and resources they need to take an active role in the stewardship of public and private land in the Big Rivers area. BRAVO is run through The Nature Institute in Godrey, IL and coordinates workdays in Calhoun, Jersey, Madison, Macoquin, St. Clair, and Monroe counties. For more information contact The Nature Institute at (618) 467-2521.
Conserving Lands in Farm, Forest, Talus or Prairie (CLIFFTOP)
CLIFFTOP is a non-profit group of local landowners that was founded in 2006 to conserve, preserve and protect the Mississippi River bluffs corridor in Monroe and northern Randolph counties. The 35,000 acre mostly forested corridor, also known as the Northern Ozark Natural Division, hosts nearly half of Illinois’ remaining loess hill prairies, half of Illinois’ 102 species of reptiles and amphibians, and a dozen threatened or endangered plant and animal species. In addition, the corridor is home to 550 individual landowners and three villages. CLIFFTOP’s objectives include: to increase public information and awareness about the bluff lands; foster improving individual landholder stewardship and land wildlife management practices; help to implement existing county, state, and federal conservation plans and programs; promote conservation easements as a long-term bluff lands protection strategy. In additional to these objectives, CLIFFTOP works with the IDNR and INPC to manage 14 sites totaling 2,143 acres and they assist fellow landowners on 27 sites totaling approximately 2,900 acres. For more information, contact Pen and Carl Daubach at clifftop@htc.net
Salt Lick Point Committee
Formed one year ago, the Salt Lick Point Committee provide stewardship on the 449 acre Salt Lick Point Land and Water Reserve, owned by the Village of Valmeyer and located in Valmeyer, Illinois in Monroe County. The Committee along with the local Boy Scout Troop, INPC, and IDNR, are developing walking trials overlooking the Mississippi Bottoms and are restoring the Glades and Prairies. For more information, contact Rich Dependahl at rdepend@htc.net.
The Friends of Stemler Nature Preserves
The Friends of Stemler Nature Preserves is a volunteer group dedicated to maintaining and improving Stemler Woods, Stemler Cave and the surrounding ecosystems in St. Clair county. The Friends of Stemler Nature Preserves formed almost 2 years ago. They have blazed over 3 miles of trails, with informational signs and a welcoming Kiosk. More recently, with the assistance of IDNR, they have burned a large (~20-30 acre Prairie planting) that had been abandoned years ago. They produce a quarterly newsletter that goes to interested people and all the neighbors of the Preserve. Trail blazing, maintenance, honeysuckle and other exotics removal, and prairie and woodland burns are just a few of our continuing projects. For more information, contact Carrie Magill at carrie6@htc.net or Bob and Nancy Weck at bnweck@htc.net
Washington County Volunteers
This group of volunteers work on natural areas in the Washington county area. They do not have any formal name, so at this point they can be referred to as the "Washington County Volunteers". They oversee stewardship of several critical areas within the Kaskakia watershed (the majority of them privately owned) including 600 acres along the Kaskakia River. They also help with prescribed burns along the river bluffs. The Kaskaskia region contains some of the largest contiguous forest block left in Illinois. It is one of the best examples of hardwood forests and is home to many rare species including the red shouldered hawk. For more information, contact Glen Schuetz at glens55@hotmail.com
