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		The Nature Conservancy in Vermont Vermont Home Contact Us Places We Protect Field Trips & Events Volunteer Press Releases Ways of Giving About the Chapter Publications

Volunteer Volunteer cutting buckthorn at LaPlatte River Marsh Natural Area (c) Daniel Dietz  Are you interested in... helping the environment? working with others who share your love of nature? contributing your time and skills to an organization you believe in? broadening your resume and/or life experiences? If you answered yes to any of these questions, we've got some great opportunities for you. Volunteer Opportunities: Through our main Vermont office Through our Southern Lake Champlain Valley Program office *** Volunteer Activity Profile: Restoring Floodplain Forest in Otter Creek Swamps

Former AmeriCorps member, Sara Kuebbing, collecting baseline data at restoration site in Cornwall (c) Rose Paul

Last summer the Conservancy began work to restore floodplain forest along Otter Creek in Cornwall, Vermont. The fields on a 31-acre parcel the Conservancy bought earlier that year had become too marginal for agricultural use, but their location within the ecologically significant Otter Creek swamps and their proximity to intact floodplain forest, made them good candidates for restoration. Returning them to their forested state will contribute to the connectivity and general health of the surrounding forest communities.

As part of the Conservancy’s restoration efforts, staff and volunteers planted close to 850 trees. Species planted included such floodplain forest stalwarts as Silver Maple, Green Ash, Swamp White Oak, Red Maple, and several dogwood species. The seeds from which these trees grew were collected locally and raised at the Champlain Valley Native Plant Nursery.  We will be planting trees every spring for the next few years. Let us know if you would like to volunteer by dropping us an email at volunteervt@tnc.org.

The Nature Conservancy is closely monitoring this restoration project in Cornwall. We are tracking tree mortality and also which species may be naturally regenerating in the fields.  Additionally, we are conducting our plantings in a number of different site conditions to see how they affect sapling growth. For example, in some areas we are planting into the sparse vegetation of a field that was plowed two years ago. In others, we are planting into dense canary reed grass. And in still others, the trees are going into areas where the existing canary reed grass, an exotic invasive species, was treated with herbicide. Our monitoring will let us know if our restoration is successful and will inform future floodplain forest projects.

Volunteer Activity Profile: Pulling Water Chestnut

Volunteers pulling water chestnut on Lake Champlain (c) Bob Klein Listen to a story of pulling water chestnuts from one volunteer, VPR commentator Tom Slayton.

The Nature Conservancy’s Water Chestnut Management Program has been relying on volunteers to control water chestnut in ecologically significant wetlands in the Southern Lake Champlain Valley since 1998. Last summer was the 8th consecutive season of volunteer hand-pulling efforts, and so far the program has been successful at controlling water chestnut in over 3,000 acres of wetland habitat.

Like other exotic invasives, this plant has the tendency to spread quickly and choke out native species. Water chestnut can also be a nuisance for recreation because it chokes up water bodies, making swimming and canoeing a challenge.

The Conservancy’s volunteer-based efforts provide a substantive contribution to basin-wide water chestnut management efforts, covering over 25% of the infested habitat in and around Lake Champlain. This past season over 200 Conservancy volunteers pulled over 12,000 pounds of water chestnut plants!

Listen to a story of pulling water chestnuts from one volunteer, VPR Commentator Tom Slayton.

If you would like to be involved with our water chestnut volunteer program, or if you would like to receive mailings about other volunteer events, email us at vermont@tnc.org.