Volunteering
Make A Difference
Hickory Knolls needs you! We have a variety of positions suited to adults of all ages and abilities. All volunteers are required to complete an application form including a criminal background check.
Are you interested in working outside?
If volunteering in the great outdoors is more your style, step up and give nature a hand. Restoration Work Days take place on Saturdays from 9am to 12pm and rotate through the District. Volunteers help with brush clearing, invasive species removal, seed collecting, native plantings and more!
To volunteer, call 630-513-4399 or email naturevolunteers@stcparks.org
Frequently Asked Questions
- Learn about ecological restoration
- Get some exercise
- Enjoy quality time outdoors with family & friends
- A chance to share your love of the land with others
- A feeling of satisfaction when you make a difference
- Brush cutting
- Weeding
- Trash clean-up
- Controlled burns (Spring/Fall)
- Seed collecting & dispersal
- Plant propagation
Local natural areas are subject to many threats, both human and biological. One of the most damaging is the invasion by nonnative weeds and shrubs, which crowd and shade out native plants. Off-road vehicles, overuse, vandalism, poaching of rare plants, and dumping of yard waste also contribute to the decline of our natural areas. You can help identify these problems in the park district’s sites and work together with other volunteers and park district staff to help restore and preserve these special places.
In addition to the historic and aesthetic goal of returning our natural areas to their unspoiled splendor, restoration will provide a number of additional benefits to the surrounding environment:
- Improved water quality
- Flood control
- Native plant and wildlife habitat
- Endangered species habitat enhancement & creation
- Increased public education opportunities
- Improved passive recreation opportunities