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Hello ,
Welcome to the May volunteer opportunity board! We are striving to match people who want to volunteer with environmental organizations that are seeking volunteers. The postings are from Ontario Nature and the 150 member groups that form our Nature Network.
You can see past posting lists on our volunteer webpage.
The volunteer newsletter has graduated from a one-year pilot, and we plan to keep it going! We welcome feedback. If you have any comments or suggestions, please email them to naturenetwork@ontarionature.org.
VOLUNTEER BOARD POSTINGS
Garlic Mustard Eradicator, MTM Conservation Association
- Location: Tiny Township, northwest of Elmvale
- Start: May 2 and 3, 2025
- Duration: 1 or 2 days
- Time Commitment: 4 hours total
- Contact: Kate Harries, kateharries41@gmail.com
Pulling garlic mustard and replacement planting with vigorous native spreaders. Friday May 2 from 3 to 5pm, Saturday May 3 from 10 am to noon. Wear long pants, closed footwear, gloves and come armed with a trowel.
Turtle Protector, Tiny Marsh Turtle Group
- Location: Tiny Township
- Start: June 1, 2025
- Duration: 1 month
- Time Commitment: 4 hours/week
- Contact: Ingrid Egner, ingridegner@gmail.com
Caging turtle nests will protect the nests from predators – with raccoons, skunk and mink being the main culprits. We have found raccoons waiting close by a turtle as she lays – ready to excavate the eggs as soon as she leaves. This is where we come into action. We go out either in the morning or evening and mark the position of any nesting turtle with a tent peg or a flag. We need to know the exact area to be able to place a cage. We must be careful not to frighten the animal. When the turtle is done and has covered the nest it is usually impossible to determine the exact location of the nest. After marking the position we continue, looking for more turtles and cleaning the predated nests, counting them and the eggs. The egg shells are discarded in the water. No qualifications are needed.
Stewardship Team Member, Toronto Field Naturalists (TFN)
TFN has both long-term monitoring programs and stewardship sites within Toronto and at our nature reserves. We need volunteers with strong flora or fauna identification skills, but also people who want to learn identification while restoring and maintaining natural areas. We are particularly in need of stewardship volunteers at Humber Arboretum, Thursdays 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. (bi-weekly). Located near Humber College, this area boasts a pond and wetland habitat that supports a variety of wildlife and impacts water quality in the Humber River. If you are interested in stewardship and would like to be part of native plantings, invasive management, field studies, trail maintenance, photo monitoring, data processing and reporting, or stewardship planning and administration, please contact us for more information.
Walk Leader, Toronto Field Naturalists
Do you know a natural area that others might enjoy? Do you have a passion for nature that you want to share? Help connect people with nature by leading a walk! A Walk Leader helps people gain an appreciation for the natural world and our environment. Walk Leaders encourage the public to participate in protecting and preserving geographical areas such as forests, parks, rivers, and wetlands. Walk Leaders get people outside who might otherwise be hesitant to walk alone. Qualified candidates will have knowledge of some topic (e.g., birds, trees, flowers, history) and the ability to lead participants through an area of Toronto’s parks and ravines system. We will provide training on how to conduct a walk.
FURTHER OPPORTUNITIES
Looking for other ways to get involved with Ontario Nature and the nature community?
If you know anyone who wants to sign up for this email list, they can do so on our volunteer webpage.
If you are a member group and have an opportunity, please fill out this form to have it included in the next newsletter. Postings must be submitted by the 25th of the month for inclusion in the subsequent month’s newsletter (e.g., Postings in by May 25 for early June distribution). Groups are responsible for vetting, training and the safety of volunteers.
Sincerely,
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