Volunteer Projects

Volunteers make a big difference!

Volunteers for the Boise WaterShed project

Thank you to everyone who volunteered on a service project this year to give back for Earth Day! And thanks too to our partnering organizations and agencies, and business supporters. In 2009 we'll back with new projects and the Earth Day Festival in Julia Davis Park. On April 19, 2008, Idaho EarthFest 2008 brought together over 120 volunteers to work with a dozen agencies and organizations to make a difference for Mother Earth with local projects throughout SW Idaho. Reports from the project leaders are still coming in, and the news is good! Several dumpsters and truckloads of trash and debris were removed from popular trails and other recreation sites, along with one shot up old rusty car carcass! Cottonwood and willow trees were planted along the Boise River, community gardens were prepped for planting. A nonprofit childcare center combined the Idaho EarthFest service day with a general clean up and paint day and got a new play center area dug out and installed for kids to enjoy the outdoors. Many of the organizations and agencies that coordinated the projects have a need for volunteers throughout the year. Click on the organization listed under the projects if it's underlined to visit their website and see how you can help all year long! Click here to see a slideshow of the tree planting along Boise River with the Ted Trueblood Chapter of Trout Unlimited.

2008 Service Projects and Partnering Organizations

Oregon Trail Cleanup
Clean up the Oregon Trail trailhead and Oregon Trail ruts in East Boise. Worksite coordinator: Ada County Parks & Waterways.

Boise Urban Garden School Spring Prep
Help with spring seed sowing, riased-bed-building, mulching, blackberry pruning and general garden work at the non-profit Boise Urban Garden School (BUGS) on the Bench near Orchard and Franklin.

Restoration Willow Planting Along Boise River
Work with the Ted Trueblood Chapter of Trout Unlimited to plant cottonwood trees and willows along the Boise River near Bown Crossing.

Erosion Repair along Boise River
Work with the City of Garden City to repair erosion adjacent to the Greenbelt with rock and geotextile fabric along the Boise River, near Cascade Outfitters.

Idaho Botanical Garden Prep for Spring

Help the Idaho Botanical Garden by spreading compost in ornamental plant beds and planting native species in the lower hills of the Garden.

Prepare Play Area at Childcare Center

Help Giraffe Laugh Early Learning Center, a non-profit northend childcare center, improve outdoor opportunities for kids by digging out dirt to make room for a new play structure.

Clear path, clean up along Boise River

Work with the Boise WaterShed Environmental Education Center to clear a path and help with outdoor projects. Inside projects include helping with the library and preparing kids activities and games.

Clean up in Deer Flat National Wildlife Refuge
Work with the Fish and Wildlife Service to improve wildlife habitat at the Lake Lowell sector of Deer Flat Wildlife Refuge by either picking up litter or removing noxious weeds.

Sunset Collister Community Garden
Help dig garden beds and turn in soil amendments to prep for spring planting at a NW Boise Community Garden.

Clean Up at Black's Creek Reservoir
Help Golden Eagle Audubon Society and the Land Trust of the Treasure Valley clean up an important bird area about 12 miles east of Boise.

Wildfire Restoration Planting on Squaw Butte

This all-day project involves planting bareroot sagebrush and bitterbrush seedlings by hand to restore native habitat that burned in the Cherry Fire in 2006. Work with Idaho Department of Fish and Game to start a base of native plants that can compete with any noxious weeds that make natural regeneration difficult.

For more information or to register for a project, call 343-8153 or send email to: brenda_bielke@tws.org.

Idaho EarthFest