Volunteer Workdays - November to February

COVID-19 Safety Protocols are in effect for all workdays and other volunteer events until further notice.

Advance registration for workdays is required: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080945afa82baafb6-nachusa8.

Volunteers meet at the Visitor Center prior to workdays.

Check out the workday information and the photos below to learn more about these November to February workdays.

From November through February, most Nachusa Grasslands workdays involve:

• Felling trees with chainsaws by trained sawyers
• Loppering branches and shrubs
• Applying herbicide
• Dragging limbs and vines to brush piles
• Burning brush piles when conditions permit
• Because of the nature of these cold weather tasks, extreme caution must be exercised, and children under age 18 may not participate.

Safety measures include:

• No felling trees within 300 feet of any other people
• No trimming trees with a chainsaw within 50 feet of any other people
• No operating a Terex or Bobcat within 500 feet of any other people
• During winter, all workday participants should wear adequate cold weather gear: heavy jacket, sweatshirt, long pants, boots, gloves, and hats. 
• You may encounter multiflora rose and other thorny plants, so choose old outerwear that you don't care about snagging.
• For all work in wooded areas, eye wear is required. If you do not have eye wear, safety glasses will be provided to you.
• For all tasks requiring the use of hand cutting tools (loppers, snips, scissors, bow saws, etc.), work gloves are required.
• The steward in charge reserves the right to exclude anyone who is not suitably dressed or equipped for conditions.

Keep in mind:

• Please sign up in advance to attend at workday: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080945afa82baafb6-nachusa8.
• You may contact us by responding to the weekly workday email, posting a comment on Facebook, or sending a note through the Contact Us page.
• Workdays may be cancelled due to the weather: temperatures below 15°, high winds, rain, deep snow, or icy roads.
• No workdays will take place during controlled burn season in March and April.
• Check the Friends of Nachusa Grasslands Facebook page for cancellations.

Age requirements:

• During the months of November to February, children under age 18 may not participate in workdays due to the nature of the tasks involved.

College students:

• College students seeking extra credit or fulfilling class requirements are welcome to participate in workdays from early May through early November. Stewardship activities usually include weed management and seed collecting.
• During the late fall, winter, and early spring, Nachusa staff and trained volunteers focus on tree and brush removal. Because of safety considerations, workdays are not open to students seeking extra credit or fulfilling class requirements from early November to February.
• No workdays will take place during controlled burn season in March and April.
• If you are planning on attending a workday, please discuss your participation with your instructor. You do not need to telephone or email us, but you do need to register in advance (www.signupgenius.com/go/5080945afa82baafb6-nachusa8).

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November-February Workday Photo Gallery

The pictures below describe a typical November-February workday from start to finish. A photo gallery for our May-November workdays can be found on our Thursday and Saturday Workdays page. Follow the links below to sign-up and learn more about our COVID-19 restrictions. We hope to see you soon!

1. After the Visitor Center briefing, volunteers will head to the workday location. Make sure to dress for the weather and bring a mask. The leader reserves the right to exclude participants if they are not prepared.

2. Volunteers will be handed the sanitized equipment needed at the work site. Mask are not required when social distancing can be maintained. These workdays are typically in wooded areas, and eye protection and work gloves are required.

3. Tasks include using loppers to cut branches and shrubs, applying herbicide to woody vegetation, dragging branches to burn piles, and burning brush. Experience is not required! The workday leader will show you how to preform the task.

4. These tasks may run in conjunction with felling of trees by experienced sawyers. Although there will be extra safety precautions, children under 18 and college students fulfilling extra credit are not allowed to attend any winter workday.

5. These workdays may take place in freezing temperature and burning brush piles are not always possible. Make sure to dress for working in cold weather and check your email beforehand. Workdays will be cancelled due to bad conditions.

6. At the end of the workday, equipment will be collected and sanitized. Volunteers are welcome to stay after and enjoy the rest of Nachusa. During brush clearing, the before and after difference is striking and makes all the extra effort worth it!

​To be notified of each workday's plans, join our weekly Workday E-Mail List and/or our Facebook page.

Download Nachusa's Workday Information and COVID-19 Safety Protocols.

If your workday questions are not answered above or on another website page (including our general Nachusa FAQs and Thursday and Saturday Workday FAQ),  please Contact Us.

UPDATED 12/2020