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Participation fee $0
Expenses $0
Spend the time outdoors
Location Chicago Illinois United States Chicago area parks
Children yes
Primary school yes
Secondary school yes
Teaching materials no


Required Gear:

The Chicago Park District will provide tools and supplies. Volunteers are encouraged to bring their own gloves.


Chicago Park District Butterfly Monitoring Program


Help monitors the health of butterfly populations in Chicago.
Visit Chicago nature areas 6 times and identify butterflies.

The Chicago Park District Butterfly Monitoring Program is a citizen-scientist project that monitors the health of butterfly populations in Chicago Park District nature areas.

Volunteers will:

  • learn to identify common butterflies likely to be found in our park system

  • conduct at least six site visits between June and early August

  • spend 20 to 30 minutes walking the route during each visit

  • submit data sheets at the end of the season, which are then added to the butterfly database

  • attend a butterfly monitoring workshop held in the spring

Through analysis of the extensive database generated by citizen scientists, researchers are able to gain a greater knowledge of the butterfly species present in the Chicago park system. These results will assist land managers in more effective conservation of the city's butterflies.