VOLUNTEER
<h2>Sustainability Volunteer Opportunities</h2>
<p>A variety of volunteer activities are offered by the Sustainability Office throughout the year, including the Campus Garden, Upham Greenhouse, Prairie Seed Collection, and Stream Monitoring, which are explained in detail below. Consider joining our contact list to receive a monthly newsletter with current volunteer opportunities, upcoming events and other sustainability-related news. For our current schedule of volunteer sessions or to subscribe to our newsletter, please email<span> </span><a href="mailto:sustainability@uww.edu" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sustainability@uww.edu</a>.</p>
Campus Garden
<p>We welcome all students, faculty, and community members to join our gardening efforts! Learn about plant maintenance, harvesting, weeds, and pests without the use of synthetic pesticides or fertilizers at the UW-Whitewater Campus Garden. Whether you're new to gardening, a garden guru, or just looking to get outside and give back, all are welcome to participate! Our interns will lead the sessions by providing tools and instructions for volunteers to make gardening easy and accessible. </p>
<p>The mission of the Campus Garden is to communicate the importance of locally sourced food while teaching volunteers techniques for maintaining a garden without the use of synthetic pesticides or fertilizers. We are typically in the Campus Garden from May through October, sharing tips on plant maintenance, harvesting, weeds, and pests. The Campus Garden typically produces over 2,000 pounds of produce throughout each growing season that is donated to local food pantries, including the <a href="https://www.uww.edu/pantry">Warhawk Pantry</a><a href="https://cms.uww.edu/x119093.xml" target="_blank" rel="noopener">.</a> Our goal is to make gardening as accessible as possible, so volunteers do not need any gardening experience to help us out. </p>
<p><strong>The <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/512GUBWfrgFoyMpr9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Campus Garden is located</a> between the Ambrose Health Center and Campus Bookstore on Starin Road. </strong></p>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">We ask attendees to register in advance so we can communicate any cancellations.</span> Please review the available slots by clicking on the button to sign up. For questions, email <a data-cke-saved-href="mailto:sustainability@uww.edu?subject=Volunteer%20Question" href="mailto:sustainability@uww.edu?subject=Volunteer%20Question">sustainability@uww.edu</a>.</p>
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Upham Greenhouse
<p>We do a variety of garden-related activities in the Upham Greenhouse throughout the year, with most of the work focused on February-May. During these months we are busy preparing for the gardening season by cleaning and organizing the greenhouse as well as planting and watering seeds. There are three greenhouses in operation, including a student research house, a tropical plant collection, and a desert plant collection. The collections are open to the campus community to browse. Student research projects must be registered with the Sustainability Office (email <span> </span><a href="mailto:sustainability@uww.edu">sustainability@uww.edu</a>) to reserve bench space. </p>
<p><strong><a href="https://goo.gl/maps/8yLZxid8amA2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Upham Greenhouse is located</a> on the south end of the first floor of Upham Hall. The door to enter the greenhouse is at the very end of the Physics Department hallway. </strong></p>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">We ask attendees to register in advance so we can communicate any cancellations.</span> Please review the available slots by clicking on the button to sign up. For questions, email <a data-cke-saved-href="mailto:sustainability@uww.edu?subject=Volunteer%20Question" href="mailto:sustainability@uww.edu?subject=Volunteer%20Question">sustainability@uww.edu</a>.</p>
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Nature Preserve Seed Collection and Invasive Removal
<p><span>The restoration in the <a href="/sustainability/campus-initiatives/nature-preserve" target="_blank" rel="noopener">UW-Whitewater Nature Preserve</a> helps to maintain a diverse array of ecosystem types by establishing and protecting native plant species and communities. We engage in various management activities in the Nature Preserve throughout the year. </span></p>
<p><span><span style="text-decoration: underline;">We ask attendees to register in advance so we can communicate any cancellations.</span> Please review the available slots by clicking on the button to sign up. For questions, email <a data-cke-saved-href="mailto:sustainability@uww.edu?subject=Volunteer%20Question" href="mailto:sustainability@uww.edu?subject=Volunteer%20Question">sustainability@uww.edu</a>. </span></p>
<p><strong>Prairie seed collection </strong>helps establish or bolster existing prairie areas in the Nature Preserve, or is used to establish native plantings across the campus landscape or donated/traded with local entities to provide a more diverse seed bank using local genotypes. Prairie seed collection starts in September and concludes in mid-November.</p>
<p>This is a great group activity for student groups and Greek organizations! To make an appointment for groups of 5 or more people, please <a data-cke-saved-href="mailto:sustainability@uww.edu?subject=Prairie%20Seed%20Group%20Volunteer%20Session%20Request" href="mailto:sustainability@uww.edu?subject=Prairie%20Seed%20Group%20Volunteer%20Session%20Request">email us</a> with your affiliation, group size, along with times and dates that work best for you.</p>
<p><strong>Prairie seed collection sessions meet at the <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/jDKHbZaxFrz" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hoffman Memorial Kiosk on Schwager Drive</a>. </strong></p>
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<p><strong>Invasive species removal </strong>of species such as buckthorn, honeysuckle, garlic mustard, sweet clover, and reed canary grass helps maintain the integrity and quality of the habitats for wildlife and student learning. Invasive removal is seasonal based on the specific species, but typically occurs throughout the year.</p>
<p><strong>Invasive species removal sessions are staged in various locations, based on where the targeted species is found, and will be included in the sign up form for each planned work day.</strong></p>
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Stream Monitoring
<p><span>The UW-Whitewater Sustainability Office participates in stream monitoring with the <a href="https://wateractionvolunteers.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Water Action Volunteers (WAV)</a> Program through the <a href="https://rockrivercoalition.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rock River Coalition</a>. With the help of faculty, staff, and students, we go out to local streams and take measurements of different variables that help determine the health of these tributaries of the Rock River. These measurements include temperature, stream flow, transparency, dissolved oxygen, stream depth, and biotic index. These measurements are reported to the WAV program, as well as the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. We typically conduct stream monitoring three times per month between April and October at our site locations along Bluff Creek, Whitewater Creek, and Spring Brook Creek. </span></p>
<p><strong>Stream monitoring sessions leave from the <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/9yN47FrT9kq6Wijc8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sustainability Office</a> at the scheduled start time. </strong></p>
<p><span><span style="text-decoration: underline;">We REQUIRE attendees to register in advance so we can communicate any cancellations, coordinate transportation to the locations, and get your wader size.</span> Please review the available slots by clicking on the button to sign up. For questions, email <a data-cke-saved-href="mailto:sustainability@uww.edu?subject=Volunteer%20Question" href="mailto:sustainability@uww.edu?subject=Volunteer%20Question">sustainability@uww.edu</a>. </span></p>
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