• Home
  • How We Work
  • Where We Work
  • News Room
  • About Us
  • My Nature Page

The Nature Conservancy in Africa - Conservation in Africa

The Nature Conservancy in Asia Pacific - Conservation in Asia-Pacific

The Nature Conservancy in the Caribbean - Conservation in the Caribbean

The Nature Conservancy in Central America - Conservation in Central America

The Nature Conservancy in North America - Conservation in North America

The Nature Conservancy in the United States - Conservation in the United States

The Nature Conservancy in South America - Conservation in South America

Back: Oregon
Volunteer Information

Oregon: Volunteer information - environmental volunteering in Oregon

Work Party Schedule

Nature Conservancy volunteers pull Queen Anne's lace at Cascade Head Preserve © TNC

Cascade Head Preserve volunteers remove
Queen Anne's lace from the grassland.
© TNC

Field season is in full swing, so it's time to venture out onto our preserves and lend nature a hand!

There are numerous opportunities this summer and fall to enjoy the great outdoors while working with Conservancy ecologists and volunteer teams to protect some of Oregon's most critical habitats.

For more information or to register for a work party, please contact volunteer programs coordinator Susan Hawes at 503 802-8100 or shawes@tnc.org. When you register, you will receive a complete list of everything to bring to be fully prepared for a fun day or weekend in the field.

Click on a region to view work parties in your area, or check out the entire list. You can also download our 2008 Volunteer Newsletter for the entire work party schedule and more. We hope to see you soon!


Portland Area

Camassia Natural Area
This 27-acre preserve near West Linn features woodlands, wildflower meadows, rock gardens, ponds and willow and aspen swales. Home to over 300 plant species, including several rare ones, Camassia is a special gem in a rapidly growing urban area.
Saturday, October 4
Saturday, November 8

Plant native species, remove debris, create hedge boundaries and maintain trails.


Oregon Coast

Cascade Head Preserve
This spectacular coastal headland, located near Lincoln City, provides critical habitat for native prairie grasses, uncommon wildflowers, the rare Oregon silverspot butterfly and one of the few
populations of Cascade Head catchfly.
Saturday, September 6: Remove blackberry.
Saturday, September 27: Remove Queen Anne's lace (includes a volunteer appreciation party).

Cox Island Preserve
Located two miles east of Florence in the Siuslaw River, this low-elevation salt marsh island is visited by over 80 species of waterfowl and other birds.
Saturday, September 13
Control Spartina patens.


Central Oregon

Boardman Grasslands
This preserve boasts the best expanse of unplowed native sage and bunch grass habitats on the Columbia Plateau. Enjoy spring grasses at their  greenest and wildflowers at peak.
Saturday-Sunday, October 25-26: Plant native wildflowers and shrubs.

Juniper Hills Preserve
This 14,000-acre preserve situated on the Crooked River east of Prineville harbors ancient western junipers, an outstanding diversity of native bunch grasses and colorful earth formations.
Saturday-Sunday, September 27-28
Maintain fences, plant native seedlings, remove invasives and improve facilities.


Klamath Basin

Williamson River Delta Preserve
One of the most pioneering wetland restoration projects in the West is underway at the mouth of the Williamson River on Upper Klamath Lake. The shallow lake hosts 2-3 million birds migrating on the Pacific Flyway, 17 native fish species, and over 15 endemic species of freshwater mollusks.
Saturday, October 4: Plant willow cuttings in the delta.


Northeast Oregon

Dunstan Homestead Preserve
Four river miles of riparian and streambed habitat are being restored for wild salmon and steelhead on this former ranch and dairy farm.
Saturday-Sunday, October 11-12: Build fences, prepare for a prescribed burn, clear brush, pile slash and haul fence materials.

Zumwalt Prairie Preserve
High on the edge of Hells Canyon, this 33,000-acre preserve is North America's largest remaining native bunch grass prairie, as well as home to one of its largest concentrations of nesting raptors.
Saturday-Sunday, September 13-14
Plant shrubs, build exclosures, remove fences and improve structures.


Willamette Valley

Kingston Prairie Preserve
This 128-acre preserve southeast of Stayton is the best example of native prairie remaining in the central Willamette Valley, with both wet and dry prairie habitats harboring native grasses and rare wildflowers.
Saturday, September 20
Saturday, October 18

Each work party is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Projects include removing Scots broom and other invasives and collecting native seed. For more information or to register, please contact Susan Hawes, volunteer programs coordinator, at 503 802-8100 or shawes@tnc.org.

Willow Creek Preserve
Home to over 200 species of native plants and the rare Fender's blue butterfly, this 508-acre preserve is the ecologically-richest remnant of native wet prairie in the southern Willamette Valley.
Saturday, September 13
Saturday, October 11
Saturday, November 8
Each work party is from 9:30 a.m. to noon. Projects include propagating and planting native plants, removing invasives species, fences and woody vegetation and collecting native seed. Tools and gloves are provided. Participants should dress for the weather; long pants and sturdy footwear are strongly encouraged. For more information or to register, please contact Matt Benotsch, Willamette Valley stewardship coordinator, at 541 343-1010 ext. 302 or mbenotsch@tnc.org.


Southwest Oregon

For more information or to register for a southwest Oregon volunteer work party, please contact Cara Conroy, AmeriCorps southwest Oregon program assistant, at 541 770-7933 ext. 5 or cconroy@tnc.org.

Popcorn Swale Preserve
A wildflower haven in the spring, this remnant of Umpqua Valley wet prairie near Roseburg contains tufted hairgrass and one-sided sedge/meadow barley communities and several rare plants.
Saturday, September 20
Control non-native species, collect native seed and plant vegetation.

Rough and Ready Creek Preserve
Long treasured by botanists, this 110-acre preserve hosts 250 native plants, including the rare Siskiyou fritillary.
Saturday, September 27
Collect and sow native seed.