FIELD NOTES BLOG

A Day in The Life of a Restoration Workday

Caedyn Wells
November 6, 2025

What does my restoration workday look like?

Here at Severson Dells Nature Center I have the pleasure of serving in an awesome position as Community Scientist! One of my favorite aspects about this job are our restoration workdays. My reasoning for this is that I believe community is extremely important here at the Severson Dells Nature Center, and is greatly important to myself as well. Connecting people to nature is not only a core value, but is also our bread and butter! I'm excited to tell you about a way I apply that core value as I bring you along on a day in my life at a restoration workday, and hope to see you at the next one! 


7:20 am

Restoration workdays for myself start with a beautiful drive into Rockford at 7:20am, with the golden sun just peaking over the farmlands. These drives are great for noticing birds in the distance, usually Blackbirds, though recently I spotted an albino Turkey! 


8:00 am

After arriving at the nature center, I always have to make some coffee. Coffee in my opinion is the best drink out there, with my preference being coffee that utilizes beans from Puerto Rico. While my coffee brews, I prepare workday materials based on the type of work being done that day. Restoration work here at Severson Dells can range from picking seeds in the prairie, making crafts such as seed balls, to cutting down invasive plants and setting them on fire! A favorite of mine to burn is the dreaded HoneySuckle! Only after preparing the materials for restoration work, I will then prepare another important item, my coffee! With all items being prepared I then wait for our amazing volunteers to arrive and begin the day. 


Severson Dells Nature Center volunteers burning chopped down invasive plant species on a restoration workday. 


9:00am

After our valued volunteers arrive, I guide everyone through check in and further explain directions for the restoration workday. When I give these directions they can always change based on the task for that day, though I always go over the importance of safety and when it’s snack time! 


9:20am

Once everyone is ready to start the day, I will guide our volunteers on a beautiful hike through nature to the restoration location, often being our amazing prairie or woodland environments. Along on this hike I will bring a cart full of tools, PPE, snacks, and other misc items we may need. 


9:30am

When arriving at the designated location I will repeat what the tasks are for the day, often involving showing volunteers target plant(s) and how to identify them. Worktime is filled with volunteers and myself not only destroying invasive plants or being creative with seed balls, though additionally building community and our connection to nature together! As I’ve mentioned before, restoration days have many valuable aspects to them and are filled with amazing conversations, laughter, and teamwork. Restoration workdays can all look a little different, though during the Honeysuckle season I have another awesome aspect to my job; herbicide and burning! Often on restoration workdays I will herbicide cut down invasive species such as Honeysuckle, this is done in order to limit new growth from forming from the roots of the plant. Burning the chaff “dry plant material” is another important aspect of my job on restoration days. This is done in order to rid the area of potential regrowth much like the herbicide. However, I find that these fires also make for an amazing conversation starter and a quick spot to warm up! 


10:45am

After working for around an hour and a half we will have some amazing snacks to refill energy lost to the fight against invasive species or other tasks. Snack time is a perfect time for people to connect and build community! I often enjoy getting to know everyone, and their interests in nature! 


12:00pm

Afterwards we will then return to finish up our workday, ending around 12pm. On the walk back myself and many other volunteers are left feeling rewarded, and accomplished with the work we all put into giving back to our community and environment. Volunteers then often refill water bottles and head separate ways. Conversations linger while I say goodbye to amazing people, I'm left feeling fulfilled, eager for more restoration, and ready to see you at the next one!



If you’d like to join us for the next restoration workday, meet us at the nature center on November 8th at 9am! Can’t make that time slot, but still want to help out? We typically host a restoration workday once a month. We’d also be happy to schedule other times for you or your group to help us out with restoration. You can contact our Public Programs Coordinator, Liz, at liz@seversondells.org or give us a call at 815-335-2915 to learn more. 


Severson Dells Nature Center volunteers collecting seeds at a restoration workday.


RECENT ARTICLES

Let's Go! Getting Teens Outside

By education3.americorps • December 11, 2025
I grew up with stories from my parents about how they would spend their teenage years out until the streetlights came on, and that at ten o’clock a celebrity would come on television to ask adults, “Do you know where your children are?” I spent my own teen years riding my bike everywhere: the library, the pool, playing chicken with four lanes of traffic to go to the ice cream shop. I could easily walk to the park and meet up with friends and not worry about anything but a sunburn. But as technology advances, the cultural prevalence of true crime heightens, and urban sprawl increases, teens are spending less time outside interacting with nature. What is stopping teens from exploring the outdoors? Daily life has become inundated with technology and social media and it can be harder to find time (or the will power) to go outside. Part of growing up is an increased desire to spend time with friends versus family as you develop a stronger sense of identity. Social media is an easy means for teens to reach out to their peers and seek validation and camaraderie. Teens also desire a higher level of independence as part of their brain development. A need for independence and increased time spent with friends does lead to a general drop off of time spent in nature. There are many factors that go into whether or not your teen wants to spend time outdoors. Access to the outdoors or nature plays a big part. Unless teens are able to have a means of transportation, it can be hard to access genuine outdoor spaces without relying on others (and your teen wants to be independent so asking for a ride from a parent is so unappealing). This issue increases for teens in urban areas where green spaces are a limited commodity, or neglected by the community, and they may have to travel to other neighborhoods to access quality spaces.

How a Walk in the Woods Can Change the World

By Olivia Price • December 8, 2025
The Profound Power of Aesthetic and Sensory Delight in Natural Spaces to Change Our Relationship to the Environment

Lions, Tigers, and... Waterbears? Oh, my!

By Lauren Bonavia • December 4, 2025
Microscopic Nature at Severson Dells