Hello Citizen Scientists,

I am so impressed with all of our data collection this summer! We have documented a wide variety of species across the county. I appreciate all of the hard work you put in.

Since peak citizen science period for our programs is winding down (not that you should slow your iNaturalist activity), I am working on collecting information about our volunteers and how much time they have invested into these projects.

If you are not already an official volunteer for Forest Preserves of Winnebago County or Severson Dells Nature Center, I would really appreciate it if you followed this link to fill out an online application: https://www.volgistics.com/ex/portal.dll/ap?ap=1763481094. This will help us track your hours and use that information to secure funding from grants!

Once you fill out the application, FPWC and SDNC staff will work together to get you set up with a Volgistics account where you can log your hours.

If you already have a Volgistics account but don't know how to navigate it, feel free to reach out to me at the SDNC office (815-335-2915) or to andrea@seversondells.org.

I know this may seem like an extra hoop to jump through, but this will really help us out. Thank you so much!

Hello Monitors!

I have great news: we now have an Odonate field guide for Winnebago county that includes information about what odes have been found at each forest preserve. A massive thank-you to Joyce for making this! Here is a link to said field guide: https://www.inaturalist.org/guides/9320

You can access other guides by checking the previous journal entries on this project or by hovering over "More" on the top bar, selecting guides, and searching "Winnebago County."

Thanks for all that you do, and happy monitoring!

Hello iNaturalists!

I made a few field guides that may help you in your observations and identifications. Here are the links to them:

Resident Birds: https://www.inaturalist.org/guides/9237
Migratory Birds: https://www.inaturalist.org/guides/9236
Grasses and Sedges: https://www.inaturalist.org/guides/9235
Ferns and Allies: https://www.inaturalist.org/guides/9234
Aquatic Wildflowers: https://www.inaturalist.org/guides/9233
Prairie Wildflowers: https://www.inaturalist.org/guides/9232
Forest Wildflowers: https://www.inaturalist.org/guides/9231
Vines: https://www.inaturalist.org/guides/9230
Shrubs: https://www.inaturalist.org/guides/9228
Trees: https://www.inaturalist.org/guides/9226

These guides can also be found under the "more" tab under "guides." You can search for Winnebago County and they should pop right up! Please contact me if you have any questions at andrea@seversondells.org

Happy observing!
-Andrea Wallace