Team up with Master Naturalist Carrie Frantz to survey bats using high-tech detectors! Learn how scientists capture and analyze ultrasonic bat calls while helping collect valuable field data. Participants can earn volunteer service hours while contributing to ongoing research. No prior experience is needed; ages 5+.
Conservation in the Parks
Our Conservation in the Parks program is focused on working with our communities to promote environmental stewardship, provide research and educational opportunities, and create healthier natural areas throughout Waukesha County.
Waukesha County has worked to acquire natural areas of regional and statewide ecological significance containing a diversity of ecotypes and rare flora and fauna found within the area.
The natural areas within the park system contain a variety of habitat types including, oak savanna, oak woodland, maple-basswood forest, fens, prairie, southern mesic forest, lowland hardwood swamps, and wetlands.
Effectively protecting and managing these diverse and unique natural resources is important in preserving the ecological integrity and function of these green spaces for the enjoyment of generations to come. Our staff, volunteers, and corporate sponsors work together to restore and monitor the natural areas and species within them throughout the Park System.
Community Science Program
Learn. Collect. Contribute.
Join our knowledgeable staff and program leaders for an engaging, hands-on experience that brings science to life! Learn how scientists observe wildlife, collect and record field data, and contribute to conservation research. Then put your new skills into action – helping gather meaningful wildlife data that supports ongoing scientific efforts.
Participants can earn eligible volunteer service hours while learning, exploring, and making a difference.
Join Wisconsin Master Naturalist Caroline Frantz for a bat-tastic presentation at The Tap Yard! Learn why bats are vital to our ecosystem and how to spot them, then take an optional short hike with acoustic gear to hear bats in action. Enjoy an evening of science and exploration.
Explore Waukesha County’s rich birdlife with our knowledgeable staff! Participate in seasonal surveys, track feathered friends, and learn field techniques used by scientists. Perfect for experienced birders, with volunteer service hours available for your contributions to ongoing research; ages 13+.
Join our team for an engaging, hands-on survey of aquatic life! Learn how scientists study invertebrates and assist in monitoring invasive Asian clams to help safeguard our waterways. Earn volunteer service hours while gathering meaningful field data and putting your skills into action. No prior experience is needed; ages 13+.
Join our knowledgeable staff for a hands-on experience that brings science to life! Learn how scientists observe wildlife, collect field data, and contribute to research – then help track dragonflies and damselflies in our invertebrate survey. Participants can earn eligible volunteer service hours while learning, exploring, and making a difference. No prior experience is needed; ages 13+.
Step into the woods with experts from the Wisconsin Mycological Society and discover the fascinating world of fungi! Learn how scientists monitor mushrooms as part of ongoing Park System research, then observe and record what you find along the trail. Volunteer hours are available as you explore, learn, and contribute to real science. No prior experience is needed; ages 13+.
Did you know over half of Wisconsin’s 52 native mussel species are at risk? Join our staff for a hands-on experience in the water, learning how scientists search for and monitor rare freshwater mussels. Participants can earn volunteer service hours while helping protect native aquatic ecosystems and gathering meaningful field data. No prior experience is needed; ages 13+.
Team up with staff and fellow invertebrate enthusiasts for a lively field survey! Learn all about bumble bees while helping spot and identify these important pollinators. Make a difference, earn volunteer hours, and put your new skills into action. No prior experience is needed; ages 13+.
Habitat Restoration Workdays
Lend a Hand. Restore the Land.
Join us for a fun day in nature! Help remove invasive species and restore rare oak ecosystems right here in Waukesha County. Make a real impact on habitats that matter! No prior experience is needed; ages 13+.
Parkland Conservation Fund
Help protect Waukesha County's Natural Areas and Parklands
The Parkland Conservation Fund was created in 2019 to help protect, restore, and enhance greenspaces throughout the Waukesha County Park System. This stewardship fund focuses on wildlife habitat conservation, restoration and improvements to natural areas.
The dedicated fund is an opportunity to invest in local natural resources, public lands and parks for generations to come. Your financial gift will support important projects and will help preserve the diversity of ecotypes found throughout the park system.
Projects are evaluated and selected annually by the County Park System’s Ecology Team.
Donation Information
Make a Donation
Each donation makes a difference and has the option to be recognized with a Certificate of Commitment.
- Stewardship or Tribute Donation: Give an individual gift or a gift to celebrate a special occasion or pay tribute to a friend.
- No Recognition Donation: You would prefer to remain anonymous and/or do not want a Certificate of Commitment
Options to Donate:
- Donate online
- Donate by mail
- Please make checks payable to the Parkland Conservation Fund
- Enclose this completed form with your check.
- If you would like a Certificate of Commitment, please identify what type of wording you would like
Mail completed form and check to:
Waukesha County Park System
515 W. Moreland Blvd., AC 260
Waukesha, WI 53188
Charitable contributions given directly to Waukesha County are tax-deductible under section 170(c)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code.
Current Projects Supported by Parkland Conservation Fund
Examples include:
- Monches Property Restoration
- Planting a diversity of shrubs and trees along the Oconomowoc River Greenway to reduce pollution from agricultural land and improve water quality. A partnership with the Oconomowoc Watershed Protection Program. Please donate to help us complete the next phases.
- Thanks to the generous donations to the Parkland Conservation Fund and volunteer tree planting events, over 300 trees and shrubs have been added. Approximately 800 more native trees over 16 acres remain!
- Brown's Fen Restoration
- Brown’s Fen is classified by the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission as an NA-3 natural areas. NA-3 sites represent native biotic communities judged to have been substantially altered by human activities, but which are of local significance, often containing good wildlife habitat or providing refuge for a number of native plant species which no longer exist in the surrounding area.
- These proposed activities would not only bring the fen back to a more manageable state for our existing staff and volunteers to maintain, but they would improve the hydrological function provided by the fen ecosystem and increase the unique species diversity that is present there.
Community Science Data Collection
Enter your data here
Please select the data entry form(s) for your Wildlife Monitoring session.
The data that is collected on wildlife species within the Park System will help staff plan and prioritize land management and habitat restoration efforts.
Thank you for volunteering!
Thank you for being a Frog & Toad Call Monitoring volunteer.
Thank you for being a Macro-Invertebrate Monitoring volunteer.
Thank you for being a Wetland Monitoring volunteer.
Songbird Nest Box Monitoring Data Form
Thank you for being a Songbird Nest Box volunteer.
Wood Duck/Merganster Nest Box Monitoring
Thank you for being a Wood Duck/Merganster Nest Box Monitoring volunteer.
Thank you for volunteering to pull Garlic Mustard.
