MNA Looks Back on a Remarkable 2014

2014 has been an incredibly important and successful year for MNA! It’s impossible for one blog post to do justice to the amazing work of our staff and volunteers, but we’ve compiled a few highlights from throughout the year. Click on the images to enlarge and scroll through the gallery:

MNA partnered with Lake Trust Credit Union to provide education mini-grants to teachers for nature field trips. [Photo: Nancy Leonard]

MNA received national recognition when we were awarded accreditation from the Land Trust Accreditation Commission

Students from Lars Brudvig’s restoration ecology class at Michigan State University took part in a conservation education workday at Goose Creek Grasslands Nature Sanctuary.

MNA completed a series of land acquisition projects to help expand the protected areas at three of the 14 nature sanctuaries within the Jackson Interlobate. [Photo: Big Valley Nature Sanctuary]

Volunteers helped complete 128 volunteer workdays, working a total of 3,118 hours in 2014

MNA purchased a 77-acre addition to James H. Klipfel Memorial Nature Sanctuary on Brockway Mountain thanks to generous support from members and a matching grant from Donald and Karen Stearns. [Photo: J. Haara]

MNA hosted 43 guided hikes, kayak trips, and excursions in 2014. [Photo: Patricia Pennell.]

MNA purchased an addition to Kernan Memorial Nature Sanctuary along Lake Huron’s Whiskey Harbor. [Photo: Jason Steel]

MNA hosted three BioBlitz events in the Upper Peninsula and Southwest Michigan to complete comprehensive species lists at each sanctuary. [Photo: Patricia Pennell]

MNA outgrew our office in Williamston and moved our headquarters to nearby Okemos – visit us at 2310 Science Parkway!

MNA’s burn crew conducted several prescribed burns in order to maintain sensitive habitats around the state

Students from Jeffers High School participated in a variety of hands-on learning activities at Robert T. Brown Plant Preserve. One of the projects included installing a new interpretive sign at the sanctuary that the students designed themselves. [Photo: Joan Chadde]

MNA hosted our first 5K Run/Walk, the Rattlesnake Run, at the Paint Creek Trail in Oakland County! Proceeds from the 5K went toward the protection of habitat for the eastern massasauga rattlesnake. [Photo: Yoshi Naruse]

MNA said goodbye to dedicated volunteer and former trustee Fred Dye this year. Fred’s legacy lives on through Fred Dye Nature Sanctuary, named in his honor in 2003. [Photo: (from left) former Stewardship Director Sherri Laier, Land Protection Technician Natalie Kent-Norkowski, former Executive Director Jeremy Emmi, and Fred Dye at the August 7, 2004 dedication of Fred Dye Nature Sanctuary]

MNA constructed and rebuilt boardwalks at several sanctuaries across the state to help protect sensitive habitats and improve accessibility for visitors. [Photo: Nicole Mathiasz carries lumber by Kathryn Lund Johnson]

MNA supporters gathered this fall at the Kellogg Center in East Lansing to honor volunteers and donors who do so much to help MNA make a difference in Michigan

Check out out MNA’s 2014 Year in Review publication for more details about our progress in 2014. 

Thank you for making this a year to remember! If you’d like to support MNA, you can become a member or make a tax-deductible contribution.