This is the second in a series of conversations with some of our 2020 Huron Pines AmeriCorps members sharing highlights and takeaways from their service. Joe Dewan found his most rewarding day on the banks of the Red Cedar River, his home stream, clearing it of trash with the help of volunteers. … More Q&A with Huron Pines AmeriCorps Member Joe Dewan
The massive sheet of ice which shaped Michigan thousands of years ago is long gone but its impact remains. Along the northern Lake Huron coast, the glacier scraped away material right down to bedrock. Further inland, the mile-thick ice deposited huge amounts of earth in rolling hills as it receded. This is the foundation of Northern Michigan’s diverse forest cover. … More Know your landscape from the ground, up
This is the first in a series of conversations with some of our 2020 Huron Pines AmeriCorps members sharing highlights and takeaways from their service. For Shelby Cain, this has meant shifting her service year around both a pandemic and a 500-year flood event impacting her Midland host site. … More Q&A with Huron Pines AmeriCorps Member Shelby Cain
Visitors to Huron Pines’ two nature preserves now have a quiet place to sit, reflect and observe their surroundings thanks to the craftsmanship of students at Alcona High School. Students in the Geometry in Construction shop class built 11 wooden benches which now reside at Hubbard Lake Nature Preserve and Emily Min Hunt Preserve. … More Alcona Students Build Benches for Huron Pines Nature Preserves
Friends of Huron Pines gathered at Emily Min Hunt Preserve on Tuesday afternoon for a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the newly installed parking area and signage there. The 428-acre nature preserve was donated to Huron Pines in March 2019. … More Ribbon Cutting Celebrates Emily Min Hunt Preserve in Presque Isle County
Friends of the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary received a $25,000 grant to expand their existing “living roof” project to maximize the overall green roof footprint and cover as much available roof surface space as possible with vegetation to reduce the impact of stormwater runoff on the Thunder Bay River and Lake Huron. … More Lake Huron Forever Initiative Awards $50,000 to Support Great Lakes Health
The northern shores of Lake Huron are home to teal-blue waters, sun-bleached coasts of ancient bedrock and plants that eat meat. The thin soil found here contains very few nutrients, so plants like butterwort, bladderwort, sundew and pitcher plants have adapted to life in this rugged habitat by eating insects, much like the well-known Venus flytrap of the eastern United States. … More Coastal Fens and Carnivorous Plants of Northern Michigan
The official wildflower of the Great Lakes State is right at home anywhere it can get its feet wet along the rocky coast of Northern Lake Huron, but those places are getting harder to come by. This pint-sized perennial is known for its deep blue flowers that emerge mere inches above the ground for a fleeting few weeks in May and June. It’s a bit of a miracle this fragile flower exists at all. … More Our Wildflower: Protecting the Rare Habitat of the Dwarf Lake Iris
Michigan’s most endangered species is also one of the state’s smallest animals. The Hungerford’s crawling water beetle is smaller than a watermelon seed and its numbers are so few that Michigan’s entire beetle population—which is virtually every known Hungerford’s crawling water beetle on Earth—could fit in the cupped palms of your hands. … More Beyond Rare: Restoring a River for Michigan’s Endangered Beetle
The Blanding’s turtle is distinguished by its helmetlike shell and mustard-yellow throat. Though not federally listed as an endangered species, it is one of special concern in Michigan where its habitats have been fragmented. As development increases in Northern Michigan, especially near coastal and wetland areas, the turtle’s habitat is disrupted by new construction, increased traffic and a shifting landscape. … More Slow and Steady: How Connected Lands Help Blanding’s Turtle Stay in the Race