Get Involved in Stewardship

Volunteer Culture

The Field Museum's commitment to ecological stewardship is part of many regional initiatives throughout Chicago Wilderness that connect people and nature.  We invite you to help lend a hand in conserving our important natural areas.

Stewardship Workdays & Taking Care of Local Preserves

Along with natural resource managers and stewardship leaders, workdays bring together volunteers to collect seeds, remove invasive species, promote healthy and diverse habitats, and learn about the plants and animals in local preserves.

Nature-Based Community Events

  • Enjoy free, guided hiking and paddling events as a part of The Calumet Outdoor Series, which offers opportunities for people to learn about and explore the vast and globally rare geology and ecology of the Calumet region in a fun way.
  • Participate in a variety of free community events and volunteer opportunities put on by the Calumet Stewardship Initiative organizations. Visit the CSI Facebook page for the latest on the interesting and multi-faceted work of CSI.

Monitoring Projects for Community Scientists

  • Connect to bird, butterfly, and frog monitoring projects through. The Habitat Project, a network of scientists, community members, monitors, land managers, and advocates—who work side by side to assure the holistic and effective conservation of Chicago Wilderness.
  • Monitor the Chicago Wilderness region's rarest plants as a volunteer with Plants of Concern, which engages community scientists to assess trends in plant populations and provide important data used to conserve our rapidly declining floral heritage.