INGLESIDE – Birds in my Neighborhood, a volunteer-driven program for grades 2 through 5, seeks adult volunteers to help students see nature in their community through the observation of birds.
Volunteers help run the program by working with teachers to schedule and conduct two classroom visits and a field trip to a local nature area. New volunteers must attend training sessions to prepare for each part of the program.
Volunteers can become involved at one of two levels.
Volunteer instructors commit 15 to 20 hours per season starting with three mandatory training sessions. They work with teachers to set the schedule and conduct two classroom/school visits and a field trip. Volunteer instructors work in teams of two.
Field trip support volunteers commit five to 10 hours per season starting with a mandatory field trip training session. They attend at least one field trip to support the volunteer instructors by chaperoning students and helping them find and identify birds.
The first training session is an overview and classroom lesson tutorial from 9:30 a.m. to noon Jan. 15 at Volo Bog State Natural Area. The other two training sessions are a schoolyard bird walk tutorial from 9 to 11:15 a.m. Feb. 12 and a field trip tutorial from 9 to 11:30 a.m. March 11. Locations for the second and third training sessions are to be determined.
For information on volunteering or bringing Birds in my Neighborhood to a school, contact Natural Resources coordinator Stacy Iwanicki at dnr.volobog@illinois.gov or 815-344-1294.
Birds in my Neighborhood is a partnership between Openlands and Audubon-Great Lakes and is funded through the U.S. Forest Service International Programs. Birds in my Neighborhood is brought to Lake and McHenry Counties with support from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources at Volo Bog State Natural Area in partnership with the McHenry County Audubon Society and Lake County Audubon Society with support from the Illinois Audubon Society.