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Current Seasonal Opportunities
For the safety of our staff, volunteers, and community, our conservation volunteers will be working independently, with someone that they live with, or safely social distanced with one of our conservation stewards. You may not be working with staff for this program, however staff will be on the premise if you need anything. It is vital that we still get work done, so we are calling on our volunteers to help get done what would normally get done in groups. Below are our current opportunities! Feel free to press the "Sign up!" button to sign up for the time slots available for that project. For more details see the information at the bottom of the page. 

Douglas-Hart Nature Center: Mon.-Fri. 1, 2, or 3 hour slots 
*  available for Home School Conservation as well

Land Stewardess Director Special

Sometimes we have conservation projects that are time-sensitive. Weather it is helping us use the wood chipper so we don't have down trees blocking the way, watering, cleaning trails, or even planting, this position is for those who are "up for whatever."

Critter Castle Creation ​*

Critter castles are a great way for us to get rid of excess tree debris and to help provide safe places for our local critters to live. Help us move brush into these unique piles to build a mighty castle for our critters to dwell in. 

Sustainability ​*

As we all know, people don't always pick up after themselves (or things blow away, fall out of pockets, etc.). Most of our trash actually comes from litter dumped on the side of the road. Help us keep on the trash fight by picking up trash that is located around the property. 

Native Plant Cultivation *

Taking care of our native plants is extremely important to us. Help us support our goals around the year by helping the native plant's life cycle. From seed collecting to seed planting in our greenhouse and from seed planting to planting in our prairie, help our natives thrive. 
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Current program: Container filling
Help us fill conetiainers (cone shaped containers we plant our natives in) to help us prepare for spring planting!

Greenhouse Helpers

A lot of the plants that you see throughout the foundation are grown in our greenhouse. Keep your mind on spring by helping fill conetainers for our native plants to be planted in. This is a great family project!

Special Dates at Douglas-Hart Nature Center

Saturday Conservation

Want to help with our conservation efforts but can't help on weekdays? Join us one Saturday a month from 9-11 am or 1-3 pm. Email the volunteer coordinator if you are interested or have questions. RSVP and mask required.
Next event: Saturday, March 20th 9-11 and/or 1-3
  • Help us transplant native plants for the Spring in our heated greenhouse!

Plant Sale Prep

 We are having our Native Plant Sale Prep for our yearly Earth Day Plant Sale. Help us set up our biggest conservation fundraiser of the year that spreads Illinois native plants across the community. Help us transplant, sort, and label plants to be sold. 
April 20th- 22nd from 9-11am and/or 1-3pm

NEEF Conservation Saturdays

We have received a grant from the National Environmental Education Foundation to remove invasive species and plant native species around our outdoor classroom (the blue shade-sail). Everyone is welcome to help us as we better the environment and the area that our summer campers/field trips/ festivals learn around. RSVP and masks are required when social distancing cannot be maintained.
Saturday, May 8th, 9-12 (cancelled due to low enrollment)
Saturday, June 19th, 9-12
Saturday, July 17th, 9-12

Weekday Conservation

Mondays through Thursdays we have a small group of people that come in and do social-distanced conservation together from 9 am-12 noon. Please RSVP so that we know you are coming and can plan accordingly.

The Whiteside Garden

Whiteside Wednesdays- Wed. 9-11 or 1-3

Interested in volunteering at The Whiteside Garden? Join us every Wednesday from 9-11 am or 1-3 pm and help with a variety of garden tasks and projects, Plus, it’s a great opportunity to learn about interesting horticultural plants and Whiteside's history at the same time!

Adopt-A-Bed- On your own schedule

Help us take care of one of Dr. Whiteside's historic garden beds. Choose your bed from the one's we have available and come around your own schedule to work on it. Bed maintenance may include weeding, mulching, planting, and other miscellaneous projects depending on the bed and the need. To sign up please email volunteer@dhnature.org or call 217-235-4644.

Friendship Garden

Weekly Trash Collection

Families get a lot of use out of the gardens, which we are very happy about. That also means that there is trashcans and the occasional litter that we need to keep up on. Help us keep the park looking nice by collecting the trash around the park.

On Hold Until Spring

Invasive Plant Removal ​*

Along with our goals to support native plants, we also are fighting the war against invasive plants. Help us in this fight by removing invasive plants. 

Pollinator Care ​* ​

Pollinators are a huge part of our ecosystem. Normally when we think of pollinators we think of bees, but it's not just bees! Birds, butterflies, moths, beetles, and other animals help with the pollination process as well. Help support the ecosystem by tending to native plants and providing a home (and food) for these important creatures.

Mulching *

If you look in almost any direction at the Nature Center you'll see mulch in some shape or form. Rather in garden beds, on trails, around trees, or in our specialty areas, mulch is a huge part of what we do around here. Help spread it and support our plants and community with this project. 

For safety purposes, each volunteer must be 18 or older or be accompanied by an adult they live with. All volunteers should also keep a cell phone on them at all times. Emergency numbers and a first aid kit will be provided by us as well as masks, gloves, sanitized tools, and cleaning products (to sanitize tools at the end of your project) for you to use. For those who are going to do multiple projects, a personal pair of gloves will be offered as well. Volunteers are encouraged to call us during their volunteering time if they have any questions, concerns, or information we should know.

Your project can be worked on between 8am-4pm Monday through Friday. Other times are available upon request, please email volunteer@dhnature.org if these times do not fit.

When you sign up for this opportunity, we will contact you (normally by email) and confirm the date and time you have signed up for. 

THE PROCESS:
​1. Sign up for a project you want to do by clicking HERE, or email the volunteer coordinator to help you get set up. 

2. The coordinator will email you to confirm your date and set a time.

3. The day of, staff will have a social-distanced meeting with you to will walk you through expectations, how to sanitize tools when you’re done, when you will follow up (if you aren't doing full time in one sitting), etc.

4. Work on your project and make an impact in your community and the environment. Again, feel free to contact staff at any point during your volunteering session if you have any questions, concerns, or information that we should know.

5. When you are done, please sanitize all tools.

6. Feel free to sign up for another project and repeat.

Thank you so much for your understanding and interest. Your help makes a world of difference. If you have any questions or would like to get involved please feel free to email volunteer@dhnature.org.