Many restoration projects happen here at Deer Grove. Restoring natural places is a complex and fascinating endeavor. Brush cutting and seeds are important and satisfying components, but that’s not all there is to it! Here are some ideas for special projects you can do:
Plant and Wildlife Monitoring: Citizen Science at Its Best!
How do we know if an endangered plant is slipping away or bouncing back? What kind of frogs do we have here? What impact is the coyote population having on the voles and rabbits? Where did the threatened Bicknell’s geranium do best last year, and where is similar habitat so we can broadcast seeds to help it recover this year?
No one person can answer all these questions. This is why you are needed to track the populations of rare plants and wildlife in Deer Grove. Plant and wildlife monitoring helps us set goals for restoration and check on how we’re doing. Anyone can learn to monitor plants or animals. Many species that we’d like to know more about are waiting for someone to adopt them. It’s a wonderful way to get out in nature and make a huge impact.
At Deer Grove you can monitor:
- Birds
- Butterflies
- Dragonflies
- Frogs
- Endangered plants
If you’re interested in monitoring wildlife or plant populations you can learn the ropes from one of the great programs listed at our partner site, Wild Things Community, and get in touch with us so we can help you make a monitoring plan!
Here are some of the other ways volunteers help Deer Grove become a thriving place for plants, animals, fungi, and human volunteers:
Become a Trail Watch Monitor – As you walk across Deer Grove, you can keep an eye on trail hazards and watch out for folks who might be doing dangerous or harmful things on the site. Most often you are an ambassador to visitors sharing with them information about the trails and activities possible at Deer Grove. Check out this program at the Cook County Forest Preserve site: https://fpdcc.com/volunteer/trail-watch/
Maintain Trails – Learn to scythe away vegetation to keep the trails open and put down cut “corduroy logs” in the muddy spots along the trail.
Save Oaks – Cage baby oak trees so the deer don’t eat them, collect acorns and plant them where needed, and monitor to determine where to cut buckthorn to save ancient oaks.
Lead Groups, Big and Small – Learn to collect just 1 or 2 types of seed and take out a group of 3 people to pluck them on a regularly scheduled seed gathering. Enlist 100 college students to cut brush, and recruit a team of volunteer leaders to manage your own ginormous workday! It’s up to you! Leaders of every stripe are needed! Your Idea Here – Often the best ideas for important projects come from people who let their curiosity loose! Explore and do your own thing – we’ll help!
Special projects for your organization or for your advancement (Scouting)
Do you need service hours for your school or organization? Come join one of our workdays.! Looking for a challenging science, service or restoration project for you Eagle Scout project or for a course you are taking at school? Talk to one of our stewards and see how we might work together to find something important to do a Deer Grove.
Below is a sample of a successful Eagle scout project recently completed by one of our volunteers.