WAUKESHA — The Retzer Nature Center in Waukesha is calling on volunteers to help protect the county's natural spaces, with an upcoming event and year-round programs designed to make it easy for residents to get involved.
The center serves as a hub for environmental education for both children and adults, according to Julia Robson, Park System Supervisor.
"What makes Retzer such an asset for Waukesha is it's truly a hub for everything, environmental education and not just for children too. It's wonderful for adults to come here and learn and for the community to be engaged in everything that we're doing," Julia said.
On Saturday, the center is hosting a habitat restoration workday at Menomonee Park, where volunteers can assist with invasive species control.
Watch: Enjoying the great outdoors at Retzer Nature Center:
"We have one of our habitat restoration workdays happening at Menomonee Park. Volunteers can come out and help us with invasive species control in the parks, and we need that year round because invasive species are a major threat to our native wildlife, like the birds we're seeing today and our native plants that the wildlife relies on," Julia said.
The scale of the challenge is significant. Retzer alone covers nearly 500 acres, while the broader park system spans more than 8,500 acres. The center operates with 40 or more staff members, growing to as many as 100 with seasonal hires, making volunteer support critical.
"The volunteers that we rely on every year, they really help us move that mission and impact forward and making a dent on the invasive species in the parks," Julia said.
For those with unpredictable schedules, the center offers flexible options beyond organized events. Starting in June, trained volunteers can return to do invasive species work independently, on their own time. Corporate groups can also participate through an adopt-a-park program, which allows them to set their own schedule for volunteering and take on tasks such as litter cleanup or trail maintenance.
"When you come out to our volunteer events like on Saturday, you're working with our staff, you're getting trained on what to do. Then there's other programs that we have through the year starting in June, you can come out independently and help do invasive species control on your own time and your own schedule. We also have for corporate groups an adopt a park program, which they can set the schedule of when they can come out and volunteer as a group to do the same type of work and even other things such as litter cleanup or trail maintenance in the parks too," Julia said.
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