Digging deeper into new activities

The Door County Land Trust is expanding its roster of activities so you might dig a little deeper into your involvement. Join others as you increase your knowledge of the natural world and play a part in research with citizen science projects. Enjoy an immediate sense of satisfaction when working on two-hour tasks during stewardship workdays—now scheduled for the third Tuesday of each month through October. You can also take part in guided hikes at Land Trust preserves, including new offerings that will teach you how to use mobile phone apps like Seek and Merlin to identify plants and bird calls—and enhance your experience in nature. The Land Trust’s commitment to increase the number of offerings for the community is evident by the addition of a new staff member to oversee and create conservation events. Paige Witek was hired in January 2023 as a full-time community conservation coordinator. According to Executive Director Emily Wood, this position was on her to-do list when she joined the Land Trust in September 2022. “The vitality of this or any other land trust is dependent on community input,” Emily says. “Our aim is to provide a robust calendar for volunteers, learners, and appreciators of nature. It’s important to bring people in to understand our mission while helping us attain it.” Since her hire, Paige is maintaining partnerships with other environmental organizations, one of which is the Chicago Botanic Garden (CBG). Through her volunteer coordination, participants will add to the CBG data base by monitoring pollinators of rare dune plants at the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal Nature Preserve. Among the volunteers she is seeking are landowners that live near the preserve to help the Land Trust learn more about pollinator habitat. “Citizen science projects are a great way for people to intimately connect to what’s happening in the natural world,” Paige says. “There is something special that happens when you take the time to notice the tiniest details, like what pollinators are landing on a flower.” To register and view any event updates online, visit our Events page.