Our Partners are working together to educate the public about environmental issues and encourage the residents of West Michigan to value healthy ecosystems. Take a look at some of the great work they are engaged in.
Summer survey finds mussels in Plaster Creek
The first official search for mussels in Kent County’s Plaster Creek found seven living species and shells from four other species. The discoveries will help lead to improving the health of the creek. The survey was launched last summer by a team from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) staff, Calvin…
Adopt-A-Hemlock
In a world where ecosystems are constantly threatened, taking action to protect our planet is more important than ever. The nonprofit organization, Adopt-A-Hemlock, is doing just that in the Grand Haven area with its mission of sustaining through stewardship: ensuring our tree’s health, vitality, and survival. Larry Burns and his high school-aged son Nathan often…
DNR Parks and Recreation Division
Did you know that DNR Parks and Recreation Division had a whole unit dedicated to stewardship? Created in 1995 the unit’s mission is to preserve, protect and restore the natural, cultural and ethnographic resources present within Parks and Recreation Division administered lands, for this and future generations. The Stewardship unit includes an archaeologist, historic architect,…
Jessica Gregory, An advocate for Nature Conservation and a West Michigan Conservation Network Partner
Jessica Gregory is a West Michigan native who, from an early age, demonstrated a passion for nature. Years of chasing butterflies, raising Monarch caterpillars, and catching frogs in her backyard pond as a child have led to Jessica now serving as an advocate for nature conservation in a variety of ways. After earning degrees in…
Friends of Grand Rapids Parks- you belong out here!
Friends of Grand Rapids Parks was founded in 2007 to support and enhance Grand Rapid’s parks and urban forest canopy. We continue to exist to leverage volunteer engagement and philanthropic investment with existing city resources to achieve our vision of Grand Rapids as the healthiest, happiest, most shade and tree equitable city in America. Our…
Newaygo Invasive Plant Project
The Newaygo County Invasive Plants (NIPP) was established in 2010 by the husband-and-wife team of Randy Butters and Sarah Pregitzer. NIPP’s creation was in response to increased sightings of invasive plants on the area wild lands and private holdings of Newaygo County residents. At that time, invasive plant species were rare, few residents were aware,…
Forest Hills Schools Invasive Species Forest Weaving
Forest Hills Public Schools is home to nearly 200 acres of forested land. Over the years, teachers from many schools have used their school grounds as teaching “labs” to help students connect with their local watershed, discover the issues of invasive species and the benefits of native plants, and create experiences to help students make positive…
Kentwood Park Stewards
In the fall of 2020, the City of Kentwood and its Department of Parks and Recreation discovered that invasive species were threatening the biodiversity in many of its parks. Determined to address these important concerns and feeling the need to foster more volunteer opportunities for the community, it was a perfect time to establish an…
Calvin Ecosystem Preserve & Native Gardens
The Calvin Ecosystem Preserve & Native Gardens’ mission is to conserve, restore and interpret native ecosystems to inspire people to value and protect the wonder of creation. Located on the campus of Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Calvin Ecosystem Preserve & Native Gardens has provided work and research experience for thousands of Calvin University students, educated tens of thousands…
Lower Grand River Organization of Watersheds
The Lower Grand River Organization of Watersheds (LGROW) is an agency of the Grand Valley Metropolitan Council (GVMC), formed in 2008 to address regional water issues facing the Lower Grand River Watershed. A watershed is an area of land, defined by hills and ridges that drain to a common body of water. The Lower Grand River…
Native Plant Guild
The Native Plant Guild (NPG) is an alliance of local businesses and organizations that offers West Michigan a variety of ecological landscaping services. It began as an idea, a seed. A Seed GerminatesNative plants begin small, but work together to improve water quality, provide habitat, and beauty. The Native Plant Guild began in a similar manner in 2017…
Kent Conservation District
Did you know that Michigan’s Conservation Districts are unique local units of state government that utilize state, federal and private sector resources to solve today’s conservation problems? Each Conservation District encourages landowners, citizens and governing communities to turn to it for natural resource conservation information and assistance. The seventy-five Conservation Districts in Michigan serve as…
Groundswell: Connecting Students and Stewardship in West Michigan
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 do this crucial work. Since 2009, Groundswell has brought this vision alive. We foster a…
Ottawa Sands County Park
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 for sand mining but has been inactive in recent years. It is part of a…
Chief Hazy Cloud Park
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 completed over the next 18 months. Chief Hazy Cloud Park, in Ada Township, was established…
Save MI Hemlocks
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 funds will be used to conduct surveys, track infestations, provide outreach and education for public…
Grand River Greenway
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 and create 13 parks and open spaces along the Greenway. Over the next five years,…
Lake Sturgeon Restoration
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, that is not the case today. Sturgeon are listed as a threatened species in Michigan…
The Highlands
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 of Nature Center’s property. In early 2017, the Highlands Golf Club was put on the…
Michigan Dune Alliance
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. As special as they are, only 70,000 of the 275,000 acres that line the shores…
Plaster Creek Stewards
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 of neglect, Plaster Creek won’t be healed in one year or even ten, but one…
West Michigan Conservation Network 