Workday Schedule

Friends of the Chicago portage volunteer workdays are usually conducted on the from 9AM to noon on the last Saturday of every month in Portage Woods Forest Preserve (4800 S. Harlem). Volunteers should dress appropriately for the weather and wear workclothes, workgloves and heavy boots or workshoes. We’ll supply tools, gloves, training and refreshments.

We meet in the parking lot in front of the statue in Portage Woods Forest Preserve (4800 S. Harlem Ave. Lyons, IL).

Our workday activities change with the seasons. Spring is the time to remove garlic mustard and plant native species. Summer finds us keeping the trails clear of encroaching vegetation and removing European buckthorn. Fall is the time to plant natives, cut buckthorn and build brushpiles. In the winter we stay warm by burning the buckthorn brushpiles in giant bonfires, we toast marshmallows and Pierre, our no-good cook warm's his delicious Portage pea soup in the bonfire coals.

Join our  friendly band of regular workday volunteers for a couple hours of healthy labor, service, friendship.

Check our Facebook page for weather cancellations and updates

2024 Workdays

Saturday, January 27, 2024

Saturday, February 24,

Saturday, March 30,

Saturday, April 27,

Saturday, May 25,

Saturday, June 22,

Saturday, July 27,

Saturday, August 31,

Saturday, September 28,

Saturday, October 26,

Saturday, November 30,

Saturday, December 21, Celebrate winter, the Solstice, the Holidays, and the Year's End all in one hot party in the woods! NOTE: NOT THE LAST SATURDAY OF THE MONTH