Celebrate Earth Day with MNA!

April 22 is the 47^th anniversary of Earth Day, a day where more than one billion people around the globe celebrate the earth and take action to protect it.

There are many things that we can do to help celebrate Earth Day and better the environment. By planting trees, recycling and cleaning up trash from lakes, rivers and parks, we are protecting the plants and animals that thrive on a clean environment. MNA has many opportunities to get involved, such as through a nature hike:

Friday, April 21: Earthweek Hike at Five Lakes Muskegon Nature Sanctuary (Muskegon County) 
In partnership with the Muskegon Area Earthweek group, MNA will host a hike at Five Lakes Muskegon Nature Sanctuary in Muskegon County. The hike will begin at 6 p.m. All are welcome! For more information or to sign up, contact John Bagley at jbagley@michigannature.org.

Saturday, April 22: Earth Day Hike at Dowagiac Woods Nature Sanctuary (Cass County)
Come celebrate Earth Day at the spring wildflower mecca of Dowagiac Woods Nature Sanctuary! This event begins at 12 p.m. and should be near peak for flowering. Contact John Bagley at jbagley@michigannature.org for details or to sign up.

Supporters can also visit a booth at Earth Day festivals across the state:

Saturday, April 22: Muskegon Area Earthweek Expo at Montague High School in Muskegon County
Check out MNA’s booth at the 6^th Annual Earth Fair Expo from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Montague High School. Celebrate Earth Day in Muskegon County with dozens of local exhibitors featuring eco-friendly, natural, and sustainable products and services. There will also be workshops and presentations this year. Families are welcome!

Sunday, April 23: Ann Arbor Earth Day Festival at Leslie Science and Nature Center in Ann Arbor
Join MNA at the Ann Arbor Earth Day Festival from 12-4 p.m. at the Leslie Science and Nature Center. Stop by the MNA booth and say hi to our staff and local stewards! We will have a fun and earth-friendly activity for kids (and youthful adults!). The festival is a great opportunity to engage in activities that celebrate Earth and learn about environmental topics through live-animal presentations, naturalist-led hikes, informational presentations and discussions. You can even dress up as your favorite plant or animal! Nature lovers of all ages are welcome. No signup is necessary.

Happy Earth Day!

Celebrate Spring with MNA!

By Michelle Ferrell, MNA Intern

Spring has sprung, and has already brought with it markedly warmer weather and the beginning buds of plants sprouting back to life. In addition to numerous sanctuaries ideal for Michiganders eager to invigorate their muscles and minds after another winter, MNA has several upcoming events and activities for nature enthusiasts to look forward to. It’s a great time to be outdoors and reconnect with nature and one another through seasonal family-friendly fun!

Participate in a 5K

The Karner Blue Butterfly and Family Fun Run & 5K will be hosted Saturday, May 20 at Millennium Park in Grand Rapids as part of the Pure Michigan™ FITness Series Challenge; in addition, there will be a Kids 1 Mile Fun Run as well. As if being active in the great outdoors and supporting a good cause isn’t motivation enough, participants who earn a mere 5 points will be entered for grand prize drawing for a trip up the Mackinac Bridge Tower! Proceeds from the race go to the protection of habitat for the endangered Karner blue. Read up on this small yet splashy species and its preferred habitat here.

Celebrate Earth Day

A fun and earth-friendly activity is planned for visitors to the MNA booth Sunday, April 23 during the Ann Arbor 46^th annual Earth Day Festival, held from 12-4pm at the Leslie Science and Nature Center. The festival is a great opportunity to engage in activities that celebrate Earth and learn about environmental topics through live-animal presentations, naturalist-led hikes, informational presentations and discussions. You can even dress up as your favorite plant or animal! Nature lovers of all ages are welcome. No signup is necessary.

Visit a sanctuary

Many MNA sanctuaries that are open to the public are ideal destinations for visitors to enjoy and connect with nature through various outdoor activities like scenic hikes and peaceful walks, seasonal wildflower displays, birding and photography. Below is a list of MNA sanctuaries selected for these springtime activities, but a more comprehensive list allowing you to search for sanctuaries in your area can be viewed here.

Sharon Zahrfeld Memorial Nature Sanctuary

Keweenaw Shores No 1 Nature Sanctuary

Estivant Pines Nature Sanctuary

Twin Waterfalls Plant Preserve

Trillium Trail Nature Sanctuary

Dowagiac Woods Nature Sanctuary

Timberland Swamp Nature Sanctuary

Become a volunteer

MNA coordinates numerous volunteer workdays throughout the year, providing participants with information and experience on the removal of invasive species for the preservation of native plant communities that form the basis of ecologically important habitats. Find a day to get involved with workdays in your area by keeping tabs on the MNA events calendar! Upcoming workdays include Dolan Nature Sanctuary, Dowagiac Woods, Mystery Valley Karst Preserve, Riley-Shurte Woods, Black Creek Nature Sanctuary, and Grinnell Nature Sanctuary. Also upcoming is a guided nature hike through Dorion Rooks Nature Sanctuary.

Become a steward

Those looking for additional involvement can become a steward for MNA. It is both easy and rewarding, with a minimum requirement of visiting a sanctuary once per year and completing a comprehensive monitor report. The ideal steward also leads field trips and educational events, marks boundaries and maintains trails at the sanctuary. If you are interested in becoming a steward, please contact MNA Stewardship Coordinator Andrew Bacon by email at abacon@michigannature.org or by calling the MNA office at (866) 223-2231.

Earth Day, Crane Count, and Freshwater Turtles: this week in environmental news

Earth Day – April 22 (Earth Day Network): Happy Earth Day! We are now entering the 46^th year of a movement that continues to inspire, challenge ideas, ignite passion, and motivate people to action. In 1970, the year of our first Earth Day, the movement gave voice to an emerging consciousness, channeling human energy toward environmental issues.

Annual Midwest Crane Count (International Crane Foundation): The Annual Midwest Crane Count is one of the largest citizen-based wildlife surveys in the world. One of the primary purposes of the Count is to monitor the abundance and distribution of cranes in the Upper Midwest. Each year in mid-April, over 2,000 volunteers travel to their local wetlands and favorite birding locations to participate in the Crane Count. This annual survey of Sandhill and Whooping Cranes spans over 90 counties in six states of the upper Midwest (Wisconsin and portions of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, and Minnesota).

Sandhill Cranes, United States. Photo: John Ford

National Wildlife Refuges Help to Recover Threatened, Endangered Species in Michigan and Wisconsin (U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Newsroom): The Fish and Wildlife Service’s Cooperative Recovery Initiative is working with the Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge to help recover the threatened eastern prairie fringed orchid in Michigan. They will establish a population of threatened eastern prairie fringed orchid using plant orchid plugs in suitable habitat at the refuge. Staff will also manage an orchid population on private land near the refuge to harvest seed to supplement the planted plugs. Monitoring of the plugs and hand pollination of orchids on the private land will occur for three years, and results will be assessed to focus future recovery actions.

Karner blue butterfly and eastern prairie fringed orchid. Photos: USFWS.

Metal heads and body burdens: Lake Michigan turtles can’t get the lead out (Great Lakes Echo): Painted and snapping turtles accumulate heavy metals in their tissues, according to a recent study in Environmental Monitoring and Assessment. Some of these medals come from local industries. Bearing the burdens of these metals could shorten turtle life spans and make them less fertile, although these impacts on painted and snapping turtles have not yet been measured. In fact, freshwater turtles have been a bit neglected by research. More research is needed before an ongoing metal monitoring program can be instilled.

Celebrate Earth Day with MNA

April 22, 2015 marks Earth Day’s 45th anniversary. To celebrate, MNA will be hosting special hikes! Join us for a guided nature hike or other activity to explore the best Michigan has to offer!

Dowagiac Woods Nature Sanctuary. Photo by Dick Glosenger.

Join us for one of these special Earth Day hikes:

Monday, April 20: Earthweek Hike at Five Lakes Muskegon Nature Sanctuary (Muskegon County) 

In partnership with the Muskegon Area Earthweek group, MNA will host two hikes at Five Lakes Muskegon Nature Sanctuary in Muskegon County. The hikes will begin at both 2:30 pm and 5 pm. All are welcome! For more information or to sing up, contact John Bagley at jbagley@michigannature.org

Wednesday, April 22: Earth Day Hike at Dowagiac Woods Nature Sanctuary (Cass County)

Come celebrate Earth Day at the spring wildflower mecca of Dowagiac Woods Nature Sanctuary! This event begins at 4:30 p.m. and will be a combination wildflower hike and stewardship opportunity. As we hike, we will pull invasive garlic mustard along the trail to help maintain the sanctuary. Contact John Bagley at jbagley@michigannature.org for details or to sign up.

Let Earth Day inspire you to make a difference in your community. Join MNA for one of these volunteer days that happen to fall right around Earth Day:

Saturday, April 18: Coldwater River Plant Preserve (Kent County) 

Help sanctuary steward Patricia Pennell keep this beautiful floodplain forest and the amazing wildflowers in good health by pitching in to control garlic mustard. The event starts at 9:30 a.m. For details, contact John Bagley at jbagley@michigannature.org.

Friday, April 24: Frances Broehl Memorial No. 1 (Lenawee County)

Enjoy the beautiful woods, Wolf Creek, and spring wildflowers as you help pull invasive garlic mustard. This event begins at 10 a.m. For details, contact Rachel Maranto at rmaranto@michigannature.org

If you can’t make it to any of these events, keep an eye on MNA’s calendar of events for additional volunteer opportunities and nature hikes. Happy Earth Day!