POSTER PRESENTER #20 CO-AUTHORS: Olivia Greymont, UW-Stevens Point Society for Ecological Restoration Student Chapter (UWSP-SER); Erin McCune, UWSP-SER TITLE: UWSP Society for Ecological Restoration Student Chapter: Educating volunteers to promote wetland restoration and stewardship ABSTRACT: The UW-Stevens Point student chapter of the Society for Ecological Restoration (SER) teaches members about stewardship and safety protocols to follow during volunteer workdays through a newly developed stewardship training program. In 2019, the officers of the club developed a weekend stewardship training class and a textbook based on the official SER standards. This training allows student members to safely lead workdays and put into practice many techniques used in the restoration field. This training is paired with a larger workday called the Restoration Celebration that focuses on a specific work site and allows new stewards to practice their leadership skills. UW-Stevens Point SER has workday sites within Schmeeckle Reserve and around the Portage County area. These sites are in a variety of habitats, including wetlands. On these workdays, volunteers perform activities such as collecting native seeds, planting native plants, removing invasive species, assisting with prescribed burns, and more. In this presentation, we will focus on the training of volunteer stewards and the work that follows at their chosen sites. BIO: Bella Kirkpatrick is has been the President of the UW-Stevens Point chapter of the Society for Ecological Restoration for the past two years and has been a steward with the organization for the past three years. She is a senior at UW-Stevens Point studying Forestry with an emphasis on ecological restoration.