In this
issue...
Reflections
from the President
Earth
Day
Spotted
Gar Pike
Reflections
on the Spring Chill
Why?
Nature
Area Happenings
With
Appreciation
From
the Family Butterfly Book
Memorials
Mark
Your Calendar
Newletter
Sponsor
Upcoming
Events...
October
6
Bird Walk
10:00AM
Nature Area
October
20
Nature Hike
9:00AM
Bird Sanctuary
Nature Area Open
Saturday 10:00AM
- 2:00PM
Thursday 6PM - 8PM until Oct 1
After Oct 1, the Nature Area is open only on Saturdays
Closed during inclement weather
Last Day Open - October 28
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Reflections
from the President
by Liz
Hugel
Summer Greetings!
We hope this newsletter finds you well and enjoying these sunny summer
days. Your conservancy board has been kept busy over the months since
our last newsletter. Here's a brief round-up of some of our different
projects.
Earth
Day!
On Sunday, April 22nd we celebrated Earth Day with the community at Centennial
Farm. There were fun and interesting activities for all ages. We were
fortunate to have volunteers from Riverside Academy join us to lead some
of the activities. These science students drove from Dearborn for the
event, to assist their teacher, Terry Laesser, our Education Chair. Children
participated in an interactive game called "Who Polluted the Detroit
River?", planted seeds, and learned about recycling. The children
listened with captive attention to Jake Adkins, who presented "Prey
and Predators." Formerly with the DNR in the UP, Jake spoke about
wildlife and habitats while showing the audience some very impressive
skins and skulls. Afterward, we had a very informative presentation by
Professor David Susko from UM-Dearborn. We appreciated his drive over
to Grosse Ile from Windsor to join us to speak about non-native species
and strategies for their control.
Interpretive
Trail
Our Earth Day program also included a nature hike through the woods on
the west side of the farm, led by Doug Thiel and Bruce Jones. The hikers
learned about the wonderful diversity of the trees and the peacefulness
that can be gained from a quiet walk in the woods. In the spring, we cooperated
with members of the Garden Club who were interested in making the Centennial
Farm trail an "interpretive" one, with a sign to commemorate
the Garden Club's 80th anniversary. A plan to convert the trail into an
educational experience was presented to the Open Space Committee, who,
in turn, solicited comments from adjacent landowners. As reported recently
in the Ile Camera, the neighborhood reaction was not positive. It seems
that there are a fair amount of detrimental activities in the woods that
need to be curtailed. We agree that the township needs to make an effort
to keep the trails free from vehicles and destructive use. However, any
plans for the woods at the farm should not curtail "passive"
use by the full community. Passive use includes nature trails for educational
purposes. The Open Space on Grosse Ile is designated for this purpose
in the township's Master Plan.
Education
Soon we will be digging the holes to install the geology interpretive
signs at each of the township schools. We finally have an impressive array
of boulders and rocks at each school. This Landscape for Learning project,
sponsored by the local and district Rotary along with the Richard &
Rosalind Meyer Family Foundation is nearing completion. Our next education
project is expected to forge stronger bonds with our local teachers. In
the spring, we received funds from the Grosse Ile Educational Foundation
for a study grant to develop creative ways to incorporate more environmental
educational activities into the K-12 curriculum using an interdisciplinary
format. This effort is starting up this month so that we can include programming
for the coming school year. We're also working with the Recreation Department
to include several classes and activities in the coming year, so look
for some new programming in the next Channels.
Forshee
Memorial
The memorial to Will "Sonny" Forshee was recently dedicated.
With township approval we planted a RED OAK ( Quercus rubra) tree in front
of the Public Safety Building and a plaque was set in stone at the site
on August 11th. We thank the family and friends who contributed to make
this memorial possible.
Land
Trust Alliance Assessment
Early one Saturday in March your board members gathered to perform a guided
organizational assessment of GINLC. We worked with facilitators from the
Land Trust Alliance, a national umbrella organization of conservancies
that provides management support and the sharing of best practices (see
www.lta.org). The four hour retreat gave us
the opportunity to discuss our own organizational strengths and weaknesses
that will need to be improved if we would like to one day be an officially
accredited land trust organization. The results will be reviewed in detail
at our annual meeting.
Fundraising
& Membership
We are seeking more corporate sponsors this year as well as newsletter
sponsors. Please contact me if your business is interested in this opportunity
to let our members know that you support our newsletter and our efforts
in the community. The space allotted to sponsors will be limited, but
it does appear to be necessary to absorb expenses associated with the
newsletter. So, drop me a note at info@ginlc.org or give me a call at
734-552-8950.
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