VOLUNTEER

Thank you for your interest in volunteering with the River Revitalization Foundation.

Fostering Our Riparian Biodiversity (F.O.R.B.) is River Revitalization Foundation’s weekly, outdoor volunteer opportunity! Participate in land restoration activities with the RRF Land Manager and other RRF staff. Learn about nature while protecting the land and water!

VOLUNTEER PROGRAM UPDATE***

  • New Volunteer Orientations are paused for the remainder or 2023. Please contact us if you’d like to get involved and we’ll work with you on an individual basis. 
  • FORB Schedule change: FORB will only be offered on Mondays 2:00-4:00pm for the rest of this season. 
  • service hours- if you’re looking to complete service hours for school or community service, please contact Volunteer Coordinator, Catie Petralia, cpetralia@riverrevitalizationfoundation.org / 414-271-8000×2

FORB details

  • Mondays 2-4pm
  • Fridays 1-4pm (Cancelled)
  • 1st & 2nd Saturdays 9am-12pm (Cancelled)               

Please note these are blocks of time and the start and end times are listed. If you need to leave early, just let us know! We’re flexible. 

There will be no FORB on the following days in 2023: Memorial Day 5/29, 4th of July weekend 7/1 and 7/3, Labor Day weekend 9/2 and 9/4, Thanksgiving 11/24, and Christmas Day 12/25. 

FORB Volunteering will only be on Mondays 2-4pm for the remainder of 2023. FORB will be paused after Thanksgiving. 

Activities: Removing invasive species, establishing native plants and trees, maintaining trails, seed collecting and cleaning, controlling erosion, litter pickup and other projects as assigned.

Activities vary based on season. This stewardship work contributes to protecting habitat and biodiversity, making our local ecosystem more resilient to the future effects of climate change. 

RRF will provide the necessary tools, supplies and work gloves. No training required. Volunteers must be willing and able to participate in manual labor for at least 2 hours outdoors in varying weather conditions. 

Outdoor work not for you? Contact us office and event volunteering opportunities!

Please wear clothes you don’t mind getting dirty (we recommend layers) and close-toed shoes. Also consider: long pants to avoid poisonous plants and ticks, and a hat or bandana for sun protection.

Other items to consider bringing with you: water bottle, sunscreen, bug repellent.

Volunteers may leave their personal items in the office. 

Engaging the community and creating more land stewards is vital to RRF’s mission and our community. We have several opportunities throughout the year for your corporation, organization, church group, youth group, etc. to get involved in. 

Here is a general overview of the volunteer opportunities we can offer your group. Specific dates, times, locations, and activities are subject to change and must be scheduled with an RRF staff member.

SPRING: Tree sapling planting and garlic mustard removal

SUMMER: Various invasive species removal

FALL: Woody invasive species removal and planting native species.

We want to provide a fulfilling volunteer experience for your group, so typically we accomadate groups of 5-25 people, for 2-3 hours of work. 

Please email Catie with any questions or to receive more information about scheduling a work day.

Thank you for your interest and we look forward to working with you soon!

FORB logo
5 college volunteers from Marquette University standing in a line with the invasive plants they removed

New to volunteering with RRF? Please complete our online volunteer waiver form

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six students pose around a newly planted tree

Service Learning - UWM & MIAD

The River Revitalization Foundation has worked with UW-Milwaukee (UWM) and its environmentally focused classes as partners in its service learning program for 15 years. Now, we’re joined by Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD) too! We lead students on an introductory hike before working in the field, and the students enjoy the hands-on working and learning that we provide in our outdoor classroom.

Thousands of native plants, trees, and shrubs have been planted by students over the years in addition to the thousands of pounds of invasive species removed from river lands. We are thankful for this partnership with these universities and hope that all service learners will become regular volunteers!

If you’re a university student, please sign up below: