Archived News Release: May 3, 2022 - City of Ann Arbor Natural Area Preservation (NAP) works to protect and restore Ann Arbor's natural areas and to foster an environmental ethic among its community. This involves conducting plant and animal inventories, ecological monitoring and stewardship projects in Ann Arbor parks. These tasks are performed by both staff and volunteers. NAP is sharing events planned for June 2022.
To attend a workday, participants are encouraged to preregister using VolunteerHub at https://cityofannarbor.volunteerhub.com/lp/nap; links to each event in VolunteerHub are also provided with each description.
NAP is continuing to closely monitor recommendations from city and other health officials. As a result, the events planned are subject to change in order keep volunteers and the public safe. Should it be prudent to make changes to the event schedule, NAP will update its website and notify anyone registered for events. Visit www.a2gov.org/NAPevents for the most up-to-date information.
At all NAP workdays, please wear long pants and closed-toe shoes, bring a water bottle and gardening gloves. All minors should be accompanied by a guardian. Tools and know-how provided. Stay home if you are feeling unwell. For more information about NAP, visit www.a2gov.org/NAP.
Stewardship Workday
Buttonbush Nature Area
Saturday, June 4
9 a.m.–noon
Named for the dramatic thickets of buttonbush shrubs that bloom in the “inundated shrub swamp" in late July, Buttonbush Nature Area is only two years old — one of Ann Arbor's newest parks. Join NAP to remove non-native plants, and spend some time getting to know this new and unique park. Meet at the park entrance at the end of Hickory Point Drive (map: http://tinyurl.com/ButtonbushHickoryPoint). Preregistration through VolunteerHub is encouraged; please stay home if you are feeling ill. NAP continues to monitor recommendations from health officials, volunteers registered for events will be notified in advance of any changes to the workday. Please wear long pants and closed-toed shoes, and bring a water bottle and gardening gloves if you have them. All minors should be accompanied by a guardian. Tools and know-how provided. Register at http://tinyurl.com/Buttonbush060422.
Stewardship Workday
World Environment Day
Oakridge Nature Area
Sunday, June 5
9 a.m. –noon
World Environment Day was started in 1974 by the UN and is celebrated every year on June 5 to raise awareness and generate action. Join NAP at Oakridge Nature Area this World Environment Day to take part in the UN's Decade on Ecological Restoration by pulling invasive plants. Meet in the southwest corner of the intersection of Glazier Way and Huron Parkway (map: http://tinyurl.com/OakridgeWest). Preregistration through VolunteerHub is encouraged; please stay home if you are feeling ill. NAP continues to monitor recommendations from health officials, volunteers registered for events will be notified in advance of any changes to the workday. Please wear long pants and closed-toed shoes, and bring a water bottle and gardening gloves if you have them. All minors should be accompanied by a guardian. Tools and know-how provided. Register at http://tinyurl.com/Oakridge060522.
Stewardship Workday
World Environment Day
Ruthven Nature Area
Sunday, June 5
1–4 p.m.
NAP will be out at Ruthven this World Environment Day to pull invasive plants. Join this day of action and take part in the UN's Decade on Ecological Restoration. For the last 48 years, World Environment Day has raised awareness about pressing environmental issues — let's keep up the good work together! Meet at the Gallup boat dock parking lot, at the southeast corner of Huron Parkway and Geddes Road (map: http://tinyurl.com/GallupBoatDock). Preregistration through VolunteerHub is encouraged; please stay home if you are feeling ill. NAP continues to monitor recommendations from health officials, volunteers registered for events will be notified in advance of any changes to the workday. Please wear long pants and closed-toed shoes, and bring a water bottle and gardening gloves if you have them. All minors should be accompanied by a guardian. Tools and know-how provided. Register at http://tinyurl.com/Ruthven060522.
Stewardship Workday
Narrow Gauge Way Nature Area
Saturday, June 11
9 a.m. –noon
Come visit a beloved neighborhood park known for its precious geologic features. Between 10- and 16,000-years ago, the advancing and retreating of glaciers across the land created features known as kames. Narrow Gauge Way has one of these kames, which is a sand and gravel hill deposited from an ice sheet. Enjoy views of this natural wonder while removing invasive species from the park. Meet at the corner of Narrow Gauge Way and Watershed Drive (map: http://tinyurl.com/NarrowGaugeWatershed). Preregistration through VolunteerHub is encouraged; please stay home if you are feeling ill. NAP continues to monitor recommendations from health officials, volunteers registered for events will be notified in advance of any changes to the workday. Please wear long pants and closed-toed shoes, and bring a water bottle and gardening gloves if you have them. All minors should be accompanied by a guardian. Tools and know-how provided. Register at http://tinyurl.com/Narrow061122.
Stewardship Workday
Huron Hills Golf Course Woods
Saturday, June 11
1–4 p.m.
Huron Hills Golf Course Woods in summer is a beautifully shaded environment filled with black oak, sassafras, red maple, Hill's oak, white oak and witch-hazel. You can also be on the lookout for Pennsylvania sedge, Indian pipe, alum root, Carolina rose, hillside blueberry and bracken fern. Join NAP to pull invasive weeds to protect and restore this lovely location. Meet on Hunting Valley off Provincial Drive (map: http://tinyurl.com/HHGCWHuntingValley). Preregistration through VolunteerHub is encouraged; please stay home if you are feeling ill. NAP continues to monitor recommendations from health officials, volunteers registered for events will be notified in advance of any changes to the workday. Please wear long pants and closed-toed shoes, and bring a water bottle and gardening gloves if you have them. All minors should be accompanied by a guardian. Tools and know-how provided. Register at http://tinyurl.com/Huron061122.
Stewardship Workday
Brokaw Nature Area
Sunday, June 12
9 a.m. –noon
The variety of habitats within Brokaw make it a great place to explore. In the wet-mesic forest, you can find jewelweed — and green dragon if you're lucky. The mesic forest has seven species of oak, including the noteworthy shingle oak. Finally, the old field habitat is a great place to stop and smell the wildflowers, like wild bergamot and common mountain mint. Come out to help build and maintain the trails for nature explorers. Meet at the parking lot off West Huron River Drive, just southeast of Wagner Road (map: http://tinyurl.com/BrokawHRD). Preregistration through VolunteerHub is encouraged; please stay home if you are feeling ill. NAP continues to monitor recommendations from health officials, volunteers registered for events will be notified in advance of any changes to the workday. Please wear long pants and closed-toed shoes, and bring a water bottle and gardening gloves if you have them. All minors should be accompanied by a guardian. Tools and know-how provided. Register at http://tinyurl.com/Brokaw061222.
Stewardship Workday
Barton Nature Area
Sunday, June 12
1–4 p.m.
The land at Barton Nature Area was purchased in the 1960s from Detroit Edison, which used Barton Dam for electric power production. Barton is the only dam in the city still used to generate electricity, but now the city sells the electricity to DTE. Historically, the entire oxbow area was cleared for farming due to the flat nature of the land. NAP volunteers have made tremendous progress restoring a variety of habitats at Barton, join this workday to pull invasive weeds! Meet at the Barton Dam parking lot on Huron River Drive (map: http://tinyurl.com/BartonParkingLot). Preregistration through VolunteerHub is encouraged; please stay home if you are feeling ill. NAP continues to monitor recommendations from health officials, volunteers registered for events will be notified in advance of any changes to the workday. Please wear long pants and closed-toed shoes, and bring a water bottle and gardening gloves if you have them. All minors should be accompanied by a guardian. Tools and know-how provided. Register at http://tinyurl.com/Barton061222.
Stewardship Workday
Scarlett Mitchell Nature Area
Saturday, June 18
9 a.m. –noon
There are two park stewards at Scarlett Mitchell who have been working at the 88-acre park for 55 years! NAP is grateful for all those frigid mornings and hot afternoons these seemingly tireless stewards have dedicated to the park. The hundreds of native species living there are probably grateful, too. Join the legacy of preservation as a volunteer, hand-pulling invasive weeds and trimming trails. Meet in the Scarlett Middle School parking lot off Lorraine Street (map: http://tinyurl.com/ScarlettMiddleSchool). Preregistration through VolunteerHub is encouraged; please stay home if you are feeling ill. NAP continues to monitor recommendations from health officials, volunteers registered for events will be notified in advance of any changes to the workday. Please wear long pants and closed-toed shoes, and bring a water bottle and gardening gloves if you have them. All minors should be accompanied by a guardian. Tools and know-how provided. Register at http://tinyurl.com/Scarlett061822.
Stewardship Workday
Berkshire Creek Nature Area
Saturday, June 18
1–4 p.m.
At this mid-June workday, if you join NAP for an afternoon hand-pulling invasive weeds, you just might get to see some interesting and relatively rare native plants. Among them is green dragon, relative to Jack-in-the-pulpit, and named for part of its unique blossom which resembles a long, flickering lizard's tongue – the “dragon's tongue." Meet at the end of Warwick Road off Glenwood North of Washtenaw Avenue (map: http://tinyurl.com/BerkshireWarwick). Preregistration through VolunteerHub is encouraged; please stay home if you are feeling ill. NAP continues to monitor recommendations from health officials, volunteers registered for events will be notified in advance of any changes to the workday. Please wear long pants and closed-toed shoes, and bring a water bottle and gardening gloves if you have them. All minors should be accompanied by a guardian. Tools and know-how provided. Register at http://tinyurl.com/Berkshire061822.
Stewardship Workday
Pollinator Week
Dolph Bioswale and Natural Area
Saturday, June 25
9 a.m. –noon
Pollinators would love your help on this Saturday morning. In fact, hand-pulling invasive weeds at Dolph will support pollinators, and YOU! By removing aggressive non-native plants like garlic mustard and dame's rocket, you'll be freeing-up resources for the native plants that pollinators visit. When pollinators have good habitat, all the other organisms in the ecosystem benefit. Meet at the trailhead off Parklake Avenue, just south of Lakeview Drive (map: http://tinyurl.com/DolphParklake).
A small group will also care for the bioswale on the east side of the park (near Parklake Avenue and Lakeview Drive). Within the bioswale, volunteers will be removing invasive plants and giving some TLC to the space. Although professional landscapers visit the bioswale throughout the growing season to remove the more aggressive invasive species, there is still plenty of work that can be done on a smaller scale. If you are interested in becoming a steward, please contact Catie at [email protected]. Stewards work on their own schedule throughout the year to weed, plant, collect seed, prune, etc.
Preregistration through VolunteerHub is encouraged; please stay home if you are feeling ill. NAP continues to monitor recommendations from health officials, volunteers registered for events will be notified in advance of any changes to the workday. Please wear long pants and closed-toed shoes, and bring a water bottle and gardening gloves if you have them. All minors should be accompanied by a guardian. Tools and know-how provided. Register at http://tinyurl.com/Dolph062522. This workday is organized by Natural Area Preservation and the City of Ann Arbor Systems Planning Unit in collaboration with the Water Resources Commissioner's Office.
Stewardship Workday
Pollinator Week
Lakewood Nature Area
Saturday, June 25
1–4 p.m.
Lakewood pollinators have a unique and locally rare plant species to enjoy, the Kentucky coffee-tree (Gymnocladus dioicus). This seeds of this member of the legume family were once used to make a weak coffee substitute. Come out for an afternoon hand-pulling invasive weeds that crowd and outcompete the native plant species that pollinators need to survive. Volunteer with NAP for the pollinators! Meet at the park entrance on Sunnywood Drive (map: http://tinyurl.com/LakewoodSunnywood). Preregistration through VolunteerHub is encouraged; please stay home if you are feeling ill. NAP continues to monitor recommendations from health officials, volunteers registered for events will be notified in advance of any changes to the workday. Please wear long pants and closed-toed shoes, and bring a water bottle and gardening gloves if you have them. All minors should be accompanied by a guardian. Tools and know-how provided. Register at http://tinyurl.com/Lakewood062522.
Summer Nature Walk with Ann Arbor Disctict Library
Sunday, June 26
Bluffs Nature Area
1–2 p.m.
Bluffs Nature Area is a roughly 40-acre tract of land that engulfs you in nature, yet is close to the comforts of the city. On a glacially-formed ridge above the Huron River and North Main Street it is an important link in the corridor of natural areas surrounding the Huron River that support wildlife. Join NAP for a nature walk in this park with an amazing variety of natural features and native species. Meet at the entrance on Sunset Road near Wildt Street (map: http://tinyurl.com/BluffsSunset). Make sure to dress for the weather (walks happen rain or shine) and bring a water bottle. The nature walks are a collaboration between the Ann Arbor District Library and Natural Area Preservation that take place once a month. Some of AADL's Science Tools will be available for use during the walk! Registration is strongly encouraged so NAP can accommodate everyone! Register at http://tinyurl.com/BluffsWalk062622.
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