Volunteer

Would you like to Volunteer for Jones County Conservation?  Check out the numerous volunteer opportunities and complete the Volunteer Application.

Volunteer Application

Bluebird House Monitor:

Monitor bluebird houses at one of our wildlife areas or parks.  The Jones County Conservation Department had bluebird trails at the following sites:

• Central Park
• Hale Wildlife Area
• Hamilton Tapken Prairie Preserve
• Scotch Grove Prairie

Check each nest box and record the bird species using the box to nest.  Visit our Bluebird Project page to access forms and information on monitoring our Bluebird Trails.  Make sure to report your findings.  

Bluebird House Repairs:

Help us make repairs to houses needing new roofs, doors, revised latches, or replacement houses.  Hike our Bluebird Trails at the above-mentioned parks.  Note any houses with repairs needed before contacting us at jccbshop@co.jones.ia.us  Want to help make repairs or build spare replacement houses for us?  Arrange to pick up the needed items for the repairs or replacemet from our shop department. 

Litter Patrol:

Help us keep our parks and wildlife areas clean and safe.  As you visit and spend time at one of our areas bring a garbage bag to collect any litter you find.  Keep safety in mind and educate young helpers on what is safe to pick up and what is not.  Please wear protective gloves and use a litter picker-upper or litter stick to limit contact with the litter.  As always use hand sanitizer when you are done and check for ticks.  

Some hot spots for litter are parking lots, trail edges, and along fishing access sites and lake or pond edges where people recreate.

Native Butterfly Garden Care:

Help us keep volunteer plants pulled and gardens mulched in the Native Butterfly and Pollinator Garden around the Central Park Nature Center.  Visit with the Jones County Naturalist to learn about the plants in the Native Gardens and which unwanted plants should be removed.  Help replace or tidy up mulched areas around the Nature Center.

Targeted Invasive Species Monitoring:

Help us keep invasive plant species under control by reporting invasive plant locations.  Take photos and report locations of invasive plant species in any of our Jones County Conservation Board areas.  

Plants to report include: 

• Poison Hemlock
• Oriental Bittersweet
• Russian Olive
• Common Teasel
• Tree of Heaven
• Kudzu
• Crown Vetch
• Japanese Knotweed
• Purple Loosestrife

 For more information on the above invasives, visit the Iowa DNR website.

Citizen Science:

What's in bloom?  Report special widlife sightings!  As you walk the trails or explore the wetlands and forests of our JCCB Areas help us document the plants and animals found there.  Use your phone or camera to take digital photos of blooming plants or your special wildlife sightings.  Make sure to get clear photos of the flowers and the leaves as well as indicating the location of the plants or animals you document and submit photos to jennifer.koopmann@jonescountyiowa.gov.