Wetland monitoring is important for habitat conservation for various amphibians, reptiles, and invertebrates. Some of these species are very susceptible to changes in the environment and the data collected will help the department learn how to better care for these sensitive species. in 2009 the parks were found to contain 400 ephemeral wetlands. The volunteers are needed in the spring when they train them and provide supplies. Then they go to their designated wetland and do fieldwork at their own pace throughout the coming few months.
The Wehr Nature Center also has a lot of opportunities that are very flexible. They have options based on how often you would like to volunteer -- for events held once a year, once a week, various activities in the evenings and on weekends, or just walk in any time.
Some of the yearly events include tapping maple trees for sap and making syrup, Earth Day celebration and activities, bird watching, apple harvest and cider making, or Halloween celebration and pumpkin carving. Weekday volunteering involves walking the trails, recording observations, weeding and invasive species removal, pruning, crafts and art, collect seeds, or teaching. None of these have requirements, but they do provide training.
Milwaukee County also compensates their volunteers with an annual "thank you" dinner, volunteer field trips, library privileges, and special discounts on programs.
http://county.milwaukee.gov/ImageLibrary/Groups/cntyParks/Natural-Areas/CitizenScience/CBWM_BrochureRev.pdf
Tess,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your post. I especially like how many volunteer incentives that you pointed out. Their program seems especially flexible allowing people to walk in whenever or volunteer for special occasions, such as holidays or seasonal activities. The Milwaukee Parks volunteer system seems similar to the structure at the Urban Ecology Center. I volunteered there last semester, and participated in weekly walk in volunteer activities, usually pulling invasive species. Although i do appreciate the flexibility, this aspect made it difficult to commit to volunteering. I found that without a set schedule or structure, i was often unmotivated to go in, as there was not a ton of social interaction between volunteers and the staff members leading volunteer activities. I think with a greater sense of community or a larger social pull people are a lot more likely to volunteer at places with such great flexibility, in both activities as well as commitment. But, this is my personal opinion and some may prefer the lack of involvement that this type of volunteering offers.
But because of these similarities (between the UEC and Milwaukee Parks), I can see how a network set of governance is in place here! Not only are the UEC and Milwaukee parks engaged in this type of volunteer structure, most other nature centers themselves offer walk in activities for people who want to contribute on their own schedule! It's neat to see such a large network of parks preservation programs, truly engaging volunteers that they need for successful operations.
I also really liked your post and I found it to be really informative because before reading it I never knew that there were so many different volunteer opportunities available. I thought it was really neat that they not only had opportunities that someone could sign up for but also offered walk in opportunities, I never knew that places had walk in volunteering. I think that having this much flexibility in volunteering hours to me really shows that they really are dedicated to not only informing people about the different ways to conserve the environment around them but also really want to give people the chance to make a change.
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