Get involved! Preserving our natural areas is at the heart of our stewardship efforts, and with your help we’re working towards our mission of conserving and restoring the landscapes of our state parks.
Our efforts include invasive species removal through stewardship workdays, photo monitoring to document changes over time, monitoring rare insects, identifying early stages of forest disease and much more.
Volunteer stewardship workdays engage volunteers through hands-on restoration and education as they help remove invasive plants threatening high-quality ecosystems in state parks across southern lower Michigan. Volunteers learn plant identification, see rare ecosystems, connect with others and more. No experience is necessary and equipment and instruction are provided.
Groups and youth: Youth under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian, who must sign a liability waiver for the minor. Organized youth group leaders may sign this waiver instead.
Check our volunteer calendar to find upcoming workdays.
Exact location information (GPS coordinates for the workday meeting place) can be found in the event details.
Please email your name, phone number and the date/location you wish to participate to Tyler Lidgard.
Sign up to receive emails about workdays in a park near you.
Are you interested in volunteering on your own or becoming a certified volunteer leader? While some initial training and coordination are required, once certified, you can perform these valuable activities whenever it is convenient for you!
Additionally, if you have a skill that you want to contribute to state park stewardship, please contact us. Please include the proposed task, the park where you would like to volunteer and any equipment that's needed.
Ready to get started?
Gather baseline bird data or monitor known populations of rare birds in select areas of certain state parks.
Help map tree health pests and pathogens, so we can detect and treat cases at the early stages of infection. Map oak wilt.
Help map patches of invasive plants. This data will help us plan where to focus future restoration efforts.
Hand collect native prairie seed in October and early November.
Learn to identify the early stages of forest diseases, so we can detect and treat cases at the early stage.
With support from hundreds of volunteers, more than 150 native, local genotype trees have been planted in Belle Isle Park. Volunteers interested in helping to care for these newly planted trees will work closely with the DNR to ensure their success.
Please contact Anna Cone to learn more.
The Belle Isle Canopy Work Group works toward increasing tree canopy cover and protection in day-use areas in Belle Isle Park.
Interested organizations and individuals may submit project proposals and ideas for increasing tree cover or aiding in tree protection by contacting Heidi Frei, state park forest health specialist, by Sept. 30 each year.
Volunteers and stewardship staff play important roles in photo monitoring, which provides critical data that assist in identifying proper management approaches. These time-lapse videos reveal the ways natural areas change over time.
Protecting animal and plant species, and the natural areas in which they live, is at the heart of photo monitoring efforts in our state parks. It’s a longstanding project – starting in the 1990s – that reveals how dunes, forests, marshes and other landscapes change over time.
