2021 Waukesha County Park System Annual Volunteer Report

WAUKESHA COUNTY PARK SYSTEM

VOLUNTEER REPORT..2..0. 21

Girl Scout Troop 8329 Silver Award Project

The Waukesha County Park System had another exceptional year of volunteerism from businesses, organizations, families and individuals. Over 13,000 volunteer hours were contributed with volunteer service being valued at over $387,700.

A special thanks to all our dedicated volunteers that gave their time, talents and resources to support our mission of environmental stewardship.

13 ,588 Total Hours

Volunteer Role

Hours

Park Maintenance

4,228.50

Citizen Science

2,535.25

Natural Land Management

2,079

Scouts

1,806

Adopt-A-Trail

891.25

Special Event

876

Retzer Teaching Naturalist

456.75

Retzer Animal Care

234.25

Adopt-A-Drain

204.75

Reciprocity

276.25

2021 Total

13,588

WWW.WAUKESHACOUNTY.GOV/PARKVOLUNTEERS

VOLUNTEER SURVEY RESULTS

2 0 21

We aim to measure our volunteers’ overall satisfaction with our program each year to be sure we are reaching our goal of 4 out of 5 stars. We are thrilled that we met this mark in 2021 and flattered that 100% of volunteers that were surveyed said they would recommend our program to a friend or colleague!

We also used this feedback to make improvements to our program operations this year!

Overall Volunteer Experience Rating of

4.60/5 STARS

90%

100% would RECOMMEND our volunteer program to a friend or colleague!

VOLUNTEERED with Waukesha County Parks and Land Use BEFORE!

WWW.WAUKESHACOUNTY.GOV/PARKVOLUNTEERS

CONSERVATION

IN THE PARKS CITIZEN SCIENCE PROGRAMS

The Friends of Retzer Nature Center has generously supported Waukesha County‘s Conservation in the Parks Citizen Science Program with both financial and volunteer support since it began in 2019.

Supported

by

Making sure that common species remain common and that rare, threatened, and endangered species are protected!

Turtle Survey Citizen Science Volunteer

THE DATA

The data collected through the Conservation in the Parks programs provides Waukesha County with valuable information to help shape park and habitat management plans.

Many species are indicators and are closely associated with plant community type, quality, and structure. Having this data recorded also allows us to apply for special grants and other funding opportunities.

The data is also submitted to other organizations throughout the region, the state, and nationally.

132

SPECIES RECORDED

MORE FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

WWW.WAUKESHACOUNTY.GOV/CONSERVATIONINTHEPARKS

CONSERVATION

IN THE PARKS CITIZEN SCIENCE PROGRAMS

INVERTEBRATE MONITORING ODONATE MONITORING (DRAGONFLIES & DAMSELFLIES)

• • • •

23 47 4 93

NOTA BL E FIN DI NG S Sphagnum Sprite

Volunteers Hours Donated Park Sites Dragonfly and Damselfly Species Recorded Sphagnum Sprite Only found in sphagnum bogs and fens, this rare species in Wisconsin is considered “Most Wanted” by the Wisconsin Odonata Survey.

Comet Darner Another rare species in Wisconsin that is considered “Most Wanted” by the Wisconsin Odonata Survey.

This species is unmistakable with its striking colors.

The male is the only darner, and the only large dragonfly in Wisconsin, with a bright red abdomen and green thorax.

Comet Darner

{Photo by Kevin Hanley}

Vesper Bluet This vivid damselfly species was captured during one of the park system surveys!

BUMBLE BEE MONITORING • • • •

5 20 4 8

Volunteers Hours Donated Park Sites Bumble Bee Species Recorded Red-belted Bumble Bee A queen red-belted bumble bee was documented at Retzer Nature Center in 2021!

Vesper Bluet

Red-belted Bumble Bee

CONSERVATION

IN THE PARKS CITIZEN SCIENCE PROGRAMS

REPTILE CONSERVATION SNAKE SURVEYS • • • •

30 79 2 6

Volunteers Hours Donated Park Sites Snake Species Recorded

Red-bellied Snake Butler’s Garter Snake

NOTABLE FINDINGS SIN W I S CO N S PEC I A L

OF S PEC I ES N CO N CE R

Blanding’s Turtle Park system staff documented a female juvenile Blanding’s turtle at one of the greenway properties!

This was the first record of this Wisconsin species of special concern at this site!

And Now...

Park staff have been conducting brush mowing to help restore nesting habitat for this rare species.

Blanding’s Turtle

CONSERVATION

IN THE PARKS CITIZEN SCIENCE PROGRAMS

BIRD CONSERVATION NEST BOX MONITORING • • • •

4 260 4 5

Volunteers Hours Donated Park Sites Bird Species Recorded

NOTABLE FINDINGS

Decreased Nesting Discovered Unfortunately, after a very productive nesting season in 2019 and 2020, volunteers observed a notable decrease in nesting success of Eastern Bluebirds and Tree Swallows at some sites.

Black-capped Chickadees

This could be due to prolonged drought in 2021 in Southeast Wisconsin that lead to poor insect availability (a.k.a baby bird food). The bluebird overwintering grounds also experienced harsh conditions.

PROJECT HIGHLIGHT Eagle Scout Zach W. constructed wood duck houses for Menomonee Park.

A pair of wood ducks nested in them within the same year!

CONSERVATION

IN THE PARKS STEWARDSHIP PROGRAMS

NATURAL LAND MANAGEMENT

Over

35O ACRES

Invasive brush removal in Nashotah Park

THE LAND

Waukesha County Park System staff and volunteers completed 350+ acres of natural land management across the park system in 2021!

GROUP HIGHLIGHT Waukesha County Parks hosted an AmeriCorps NCCC Team with The Nature Conservancy and Michael Fields Agricultural Institute.

They performed almost 20 acres of restoration work in the parks including invasive species removal, prescribed burn unit preparation, and tree planting!

VOLUNTEER HIGHLIGHT

K E VIN A N D S U E HA N L E Y

Donated

324.25 Hours THANK YOU KEVIN AND SUE HANLEY! Kevin and Sue Henley have been dedicated volunteers for the Park System‘s Conservation in the Parks program since 2019. They donated 324.25 hours of their time and talent in 2021 alone!

They have participated in numerous Citizen Science Surveys collecting data and using their photography skills and equipment to document species with high-quality images. They have also submitted nature observations and performed trail cleanup for the parks.

We look forward to Kevin‘s Citizen Science “Phenology Hikes” in 2022!

FROM THE HANLEYS: The Waukesha County Citizen Science Programs are educational and a great way to get into the parks.

The knowledge we have gained from doing surveys with the Conservation Biologist over the last 3 years has been amazing.

We have documented over 12,100 plant and animal observations in the Waukesha County Parks. We also support the surveys by providing images of species found for documenting the park system biodiversity.

In 2022, we are volunteering to participate in 22 Invertebrate surveys and will now be leading 15 Phenology Hikes as a Wisconsin Master Naturalist, a program we were told about during our surveys. ~ Kevin and Sue Hanley

WWW.WAUKESHACOUNTY.GOV/PARKVOLUNTEERS

DONATIONS TO THE

PARKLAND CONSERVATION FUND PROTECT & ENHANCE PARKLAND

Tilling entrance at Nashotah Park

The Parkland Conservation Fund is a dedicated stewardship fund that focuses on wildlife habitat conservation, restoration and improvements to natural areas.

Thanks to many generous donations from patrons, the Park System has been able to fund important larger-scale habitat restoration projects.

NASHOTAH PARK NATIVE PRAIRIE RESTORATION

Ash tree removal at Nashotah Park

Completed Phase I along the entrance drive at Nashotah Park, and staff is now 50% done with Phase II! Converting these old agricultural fields into native prairie habitat will provide habitat for birds, pollinators, and other insects.

MONCHES PROPERTY REFORESTATION PROJECT Completed Phase II of the reforestation project along the Oconomowoc River Greenway, a partnership project with the Oconomowoc Watershed Protection Program (OWPP).

Staff and volunteers planted a diversity of 100 shrubs to be a native mesic forest buffer along the river to reduce pollution from agricultural land and improve water quality.

Native prairie pl ant

example

Volunteer tree planting at Monches

WWW.WAUKESHACOUNTY.GOV/PARKLANDCONSERVATION

CONSERVATION

IN THE PARKS STEWARDSHIP PROGRAMS

VOLUNTEER SPECIAL EVENTS MISSION POSSIBLE (DRAGONFLIES & DAMSELFLIES)

Saturday, April 24, 2021 • 135 Volunteers • 37 Bags of invasive Garlic Mustard removed • 9 Park Sites

ARBOR DAY VOLUNTEER TREE PLANTING Friday, April 30, 2021 Menomonee Park • 61 Volunteers • 300+ Native Trees and Shrubs Planted • Sponsored by Johnson’s Nursery

CONSERVATION

IN THE PARKS CITIZEN SCIENCE PROGRAMS

SHARING KNOWLEDGE Waukesha County’s iNaturalist project page has grown significantly since it began in 2018. This successful engagement from the community has helped grow the data for Waukesha County. iNaturalist is one of the most popular nature apps that can connect you with a community of more than 400,000 scientists and naturalists who can help teach more about nature. Contributing your own observations helps contribute to biodiversity. Findings are shared with scientific data repositories to help scientists find and use your data!

Check out the project and submit your observations online!

The number of users, species, and observations on Waukesha County’s iNaturalist project page has greatly increased since the beginning of the project page in 2018.

Category

2018

2019

2021

Users

428

918

1,972

Species

1,206

1,976

3,400

Observations

3,669

8,644

41,088

WWW.INATURALIST.ORG/PROJECTS/WILD-IN-WAUKESHA