Learn to be a preserve monitor with Kane forest workshops
Volunteers interested in becoming preserve monitors for the Kane County Forest Preserve District should mark their calendar for several upcoming training workshops.
Butterfly monitors: The Illinois Butterfly Monitoring Network will hold a training session for any new or returning butterfly monitors, from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at the Gail Borden Public Library, 270 N. Grove Ave. in Elgin. This is the indoor portion of the training session for butterfly monitors; an outdoor training session will be held in late spring/early summer. Awards and a keynote speaker are scheduled for the morning, and training sessions are scheduled to begin at 12:45 p.m., after lunch. To learn more about butterfly monitoring, visit www.bfly.org. Call Mel Manner at (847) 464-4426 or e-mail ibmn@sbcglobal.net to register for the workshop.
Bird monitors: The forest preserve district and the Bird Conservation Network will hold a training session for any new or returning bird monitors from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Aurora West Forest Preserve, off Hankes Road between Galena Boulevard and Route 56 in Aurora. Bird monitors are assigned a forest preserve where they will count each species of bird heard and/or seen at six to eight different posts within the site. The training session will teach volunteers the protocol used to count birds, the recommended monitoring practices and many other birding hints.
To learn more about bird monitoring, visit www.bcnbirds.org. To register, call Julia Bourque, forest preserve district volunteer coordinator, at (630) 762-2741 or e-mail BourqueJulia@kaneforest.com.
Rare plant monitors: There are three different training sessions scheduled for volunteers interested in becoming rare-plant monitors. All workshops are from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and are scheduled for: April 5 at Volo Bog in Ingleside; April 17 at Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie in Joliet; and April 27 at the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe. Each workshop will cover the same agenda, so volunteers only need to sign up for one. Plant monitors will receive an introduction to the "Plants of Concern" program, learn monitoring skills and receive training with GPS units. To learn more about the "Plants of Concern" program, visit www.plantsofconcern.org.
Call Marian Hofherr at (847) 835-6873 or e-mail mhofherr@chicagobotanic.org to register for any of the three workshops.
Only having to visit the sites three to four times a season, volunteering as a preserve monitor is an easy way to help the Forest Preserve District of Kane County maintain and preserve the quality of its natural areas. For details on volunteer opportunities with the district, contact Julia Bourque at (630) 762-2741 or BourqueJulia@kaneforest.com.