Imagine students whose classrooms are their communities, who do hands-on projects that demonstrate their important role in creating change right where they live. Picture teachers who can nurture those students because they have the resources and support they need to…
Read More Groundswell: Connecting Students and Stewardship in West Michigan
There is an interesting story about how Ottawa Sands County Park became the newest addition to the Ottawa County Parks system. The 345-acre property, tucked between North Ottawa Dunes County Park and City of Grand Haven Open Space, was formerly used…
Kent County Parks is currently working on a long-term project to nearly triple the size of Chief Hazy Cloud Park. The expansion, which has been part of the Kent County Parks Master Plan for more than two decades should be…
Background West Michigan Conservation Network partners are teaming up to launch efforts to control and eradicate Hemlock Woolly Adelgid. Funding for the work in West Michigan has been obtained by a grant distributed through the EPA’s Great Lakes Restoration. Grant…
Over the past two decades, the Ottawa County Parks Department has been working to make its Grand River Greenway Initiative come to life. To date, $20 million in mostly public funding has been invested to preserve over 2,400 of land…
Lake Sturgeon, also known as “nmé” in Pottawatomi, were once plentiful in Michigan. Stories are told of rivers so full of sturgeon that a person could walk across water on the backs of the fish without wetting their feet. Sadly,…
The Land Conservancy of West Michigan and Blandford Nature Center are partnering to transform the 121-acre former Highlands Golf Club in northwest Grand Rapids into a natural area for community recreation and education. The property adjoins Blandford and the purchase will essentially double the size…
Lake Michigan’s dunes are part of the largest freshwater dune system in the world. They are so large, in fact, that they are visible from space. The dunes provide critical habitat for migratory birds, federally endangered plants and rare insects. …
Plaster Creek – 14 miles of neglected stream running through the Grand Rapids metropolitan area into the Grand River. Best known for a long history of industrial pollution, it is the most contaminated creek in West Michigan. With 100 years…
West Michigan Conservation Network 