Taking care of things never felt so good. You can make a difference practically in your own backyard.
Nurture and protect our precious natural resources with the bonus of many benefits like spending time outside, joining other nature lovers, and learning new skills. The Forest Preserves of Cook County are bustling with ways you can volunteer to help.
Signing up to be a Forest Preserves volunteer is easy. You can be a newbie at pitching in or a seasoned nature lover. There’s always lots of projects — small and big — that could use your help. With opportunities for volunteers of all ages, every season has different options. Pick a fun walk-about with a Litter Cleanup outing or sign up your school, work or faith-based group for an Ecological Stewardship day.
Benefits of Volunteering
Fresh air, friendly collaboration, making a difference. We really can feel refreshed when we take a break from the screens and stressors of daily life.
As a volunteer for the Forest Preserves, you not only get to spend quality time in the fresh air, but you can also learn about local nature, make friends, and help others enjoy the treasures of this incredible resource.
The physical and mental health benefits are well documented and growing. You burn calories, improve your attention span, and better protect your heart, bones and brain functioning. Nature gives back for time well spent supporting native plants and animals when you remove invasive species, trim trees, or collect seeds.
Volunteering Opportunities
Whether you love woods or water, solo or group activities, you can keep our precious outdoors thriving with volunteer opportunities that fit your schedule and your needs. Anyone can join in — kids, high schoolers, adults, retirees — with nature lovers of all stripes.
Some people use the experience to try something new or even build job skills. Others want to meet new people in a welcoming environment. With all the options, there’s bound to be an activity that’s right for you.
Get some exercise while you support native plants and animals on Ecological Stewardship Days, become a Community Scientist or Nature Ambassador for long-range programs, or participate in Litter Cleanups. Browse the list of Volunteer Opportunities to find your lane.
Litter Cleanups
One easy way to get started on your volunteer adventure is to sign up for a Litter Cleanup. All types of trash are harmful to our natural areas and the animals and plants that depend on them to survive. Casually discarded cans, wind-swept bags, intentionally dumped tires, and so much more ends up cast off throughout the Forest Preserves. Litter Cleanups are available to all ages and groups, can be self-led or staff-led workdays, and can take place at any preserve throughout Cook County.
“By supporting our spring litter cleanups, volunteers can contribute to restoring a healthy environment. Litter causes unseen damage to our communities by polluting water and harming wildlife. Every piece of trash that is removed results in a visible change, making the Preserves more welcoming to visitors,” says Kris DaPra, Forest Preserves’ manager of volunteer resources.
“Our monthly community litter cleanups are a fun way to connect with other volunteers while making a difference. We also have long- and short-term opportunities for individuals, families, and corporate and community groups to join our litter clean up team.”
How to Get Involved
The Forest Preserves itself manages more than 70,000 acres of woodlands, prairies and wetlands need assistance year-round. It’s easy to get involved with the Forest Preserves’ Online Volunteer System. Pick an opportunity and register for it online. You can search for a particular type of service or location, then track your “impacts” which translate your service hours into meaningful data about how residents are helping to preserve the natural environment.
Depending on the activity, different tools or items might be needed. For example, if you sign up for litter cleanup, the Forest Preserves can provide gloves, bags and trash grabbers upon request. The Volunteer System spells out what to expect, as well as any requirements or safety notes for the place or actions. They even include tips about accessibility, picnicking and more.
Friends of the Forest Preserve
You can also join Friends of the Forest Preserves, an independent, not-for-profit group started in 1998. They help maintain these vast natural rewards to ensure they’re here for all of us to enjoy for centuries to come.
These Friends have many functions from advocacy (attending Forest Preserves board meetings, making policy and budget recommendations, etc.) to ecological restoration (i.e., clearing thousands of acres of impassable thorn thickets) to organizing volunteers. Volunteers come together to remove invasive plants, collect trash and gather and spread seeds to restore the natural health of the ecosystem.
To learn more about Volunteering, check out the Forest Preserves of Cook County website.
Photo credit: Kris DaPra