Get Involved

Volunteer Opportunities

1. Help rebuild our environment! Join other volunteers and the Urbana Park District for Stewardship Saturdays.
Help remove invasive weeds, plant natives, improve trails and restore the native landscape. Please dress for the weather; gloves, tools and refreshments are provided. Call Anita Purves Nature Center (384-4062) to notify the UPD you are coming, AND so you can be notified if the work session has to be canceled.

Jan. 28th & Feb. 25th:
Busey Woods 9 -11 am. Meet at Anita Purves Nature Center
Weaver Park 1 – 3 pm. Turn right at entrance on East Main near Smith Road.

February 11th:
Meadowbrook 9 -11 am. Meet at Race Street parking lot.

2. Write descriptions for local birding sites
Thanks to Brian Guarente, we now have a map of local birding spots linked to the CCAS website. We would like to supplement this map with brief descriptions of each site listed, covering such items as terrain, best times to visit, birds visitors are likely to see, and other useful information about birding in this location. Brian’s map lists more than 30 locations. We are looking for volunteers to write a description for each site. If you are willing to write about one of your favorite local birding spots, please contact Steve D’Arcy at s-darcy@illinois.edu to volunteer.

3. CCAS bird monitoring project of the CSX rail line
We now have CCAS members monitoring 9 of the 10 segments of the CSX rail line in Champaign County. As of early February, five of the segments have had fall and/or winter bird counts done with a total of 55 species of birds having been observed along, or flying over, the rail corridor. We are still looking for more members to become involved by adopting a segment of the rail corridor. All segments are located between Urbana and Ogden and are between 0.5 to 1.0 mile in length. Although the focus is on bird usage, we are also looking for people with interests in the plants, insects and animals of the corridor habitat. Minimal time commitments involve four 1-hour census hikes per year for birds, or two or three hikes per year for plants and other species. Please contact Steve Buck at sbuck@illinois.edu if you are interested in volunteering to adopt a segment of the rail corridor.



	Volunteer Opportunities 1. Help rebuild our environment! Join other volunteers and the Urbana Park District for Stewardship Saturdays. Help remove invasive weeds, plant natives, improve trails and restore the native landscape. Please dress for the weather; gloves, tools and refreshments are provided. Call Anita Purves Nature Center (384-4062) to notify the UPD you are coming, AND so you can be notified if the work session has to be canceled. Jan. 28th & Feb. 25th: Busey Woods 9 -11 am. Meet at Anita Purves Nature Center Weaver Park 1 – 3 pm. Turn right at entrance on East Main near Smith Road. February 11th: Meadowbrook 9 -11 am. Meet at Race Street parking lot. 2. Write descriptions for local birding sites Thanks to Brian Guarente, we now have a map of local birding spots linked to the CCAS website. We would like to supplement this map with brief descriptions of each site listed, covering such items as terrain, best times to visit, birds visitors are likely to see, and other useful information about birding in this location. Brian’s map lists more than 30 locations. We are looking for volunteers to write a description for each site. If you are willing to write about one of your favorite local birding spots, please contact Steve D’Arcy at s-darcy@illinois.edu to volunteer. 3. CCAS bird monitoring project of the CSX rail line We now have CCAS members monitoring 9 of the 10 segments of the CSX rail line in Champaign County. As of early February, five of the segments have had fall and/or winter bird counts done with a total of 55 species of birds having been observed along, or flying over, the rail corridor. We are still looking for more members to become involved by adopting a segment of the rail corridor. All segments are located between Urbana and Ogden and are between 0.5 to 1.0 mile in length. Although the focus is on bird usage, we are also looking for people with interests in the plants, insects and animals of the corridor habitat. Minimal time commitments involve four 1-hour census hikes per year for birds, or two or three hikes per year for plants and other species. Please contact Steve Buck at sbuck@illinois.edu if you are interested in volunteering to adopt a segment of the rail corridor.