Grants awarded by Bay Area Community Foundation and Saginaw Bay Watershed Initiative Network (WIN) will provide initial funding for a stormwater assessment in the city of Au Gres, on the Saginaw Bay. A $7,500 grant from the Saginaw Bay Watershed Restoration Fund at Bay Area Community Foundation and a $10,000 grant from Saginaw Bay WIN will allow Huron Pines to create awareness of stormwater issues and best practices and build local capacity for the long-term protection of water quality. Huron Pines has a track record of executing similar projects across Northeast Michigan and within the Saginaw Bay Watershed.
Saginaw Bay is a designated Area of Concern under the 1987 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, in part, due to excess sediment, nutrients and bacteria entering the water through stormwater runoff. The stormwater assessment will evaluate the condition, location and drainage area of existing stormwater infrastructure in Au Gres, and will include a component to educate community leaders on stormwater management practices and provide formal recommendations for next steps.
This project will also be driven by community involvement, with students participating in the stormwater study and community volunteers assisting in the design and installation of a rain garden that will help filter pollutants out of stormwater runoff.
The assessment and recommendations that follow not only impact the city of Au Gres, but as Huron Pines Watershed Project Manager, Josh Leisen explains, “these funds allow Huron Pines to develop tools that will equip the community to pursue partnerships and funding opportunities for future on-the-ground work, and poise us to replicate this work in other coastal communities.”
The Bay Area Community Foundation awards grants twice a year to local nonprofits and 501(c)(3)s in Bay and Arenac Counties. The Foundation’s mission is to fulfill a wide array of donors’ charitable wishes by building permanent endowment funds and serving as a leader for community improvement through effective grantmaking and collaboration.
The Saginaw Bay Watershed Initiative Network (WIN) is a volunteer organization that focuses on opportunities to better link the economic, social and environmental wellbeing of Saginaw Bay communities in order to sustain and improve the region’s quality of life.
Eleven area foundations and corporations work together as a Network to support WIN projects. This Funders Network includes: Bay Area Community Foundation, Consumers Energy Foundation, Harry A. and Margaret D. Towsley Foundation, Midland Area Community Foundation, Rollin M. Gerstacker Foundation, Saginaw Community Foundation, The Dow Chemical Company Foundation, The Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow Foundation, The S.C. Johnson Fund, the Cook Family Foundation, the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation and the Saginaw Bay Foundation. More information about WIN is available at http://www.saginawbaywin.org.
Huron Pines is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and an equal opportunity provider with a mission to conserve the forests, lakes and streams of Northeast Michigan.Huron Pines relies on individual donations and grant dollars to complete conservation work across Northeast Michigan with the belief that through active leadership and coordination of conservation projects, we make the region a better place to live, work and enjoy. For more information on Huron Pines and ongoing projects contact us at (989) 448-2293 or info@huronpines.org.