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Contact the Huron Arbor Cluster: HuronArbor@StewardshipNetwork.org
To become a Participating Organization within the Huron Arbor Cluster, please click here to read our Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and become one of a growing number of MOU Members.
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The Huron Arbor Cluster, formed in early 2005, includes groups such as Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation, The City of Ann Arbor Natural Area Preservation, Washtenaw Land Trust, University of Michigan Matthaei Botanical Gardens & Nichols Arboretum, Michigan State Parks, and many individuals and private landowners. Our activities are geographically centered in Wastenaw County and surrounding areas.
Since January 2005, the Huron Arbor Cluster has helped connect people who are interested in learning more about and becoming proficient in natural area stewardship. We offer a tool sharing program; an email update list of local stewardship-related events; and a variety of educational workshops (see www.stewardshipnetwork.org for the current calendar). We also hold monthly informal conversations with volunteer and professional stewards, called Steward's Circles. These chats cover topics such as winter restoration, using herbicides as a restoration tool, recruiting, training, and retaining volunteers, wetland invaders, and more.
Please feel free to share your questions and ideas with our Cluster. We'd love to have your help in achieving our goals!
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Huron Arbor Stewards' Circles
Are you interested in learning more about how to care for our natural areas - woods, creeks, prairies, wetlands? Then join the Stewardship Network's Huron Arbor cluster for an informal discussion with volunteer and professional land stewards and others interested in nature. Each month we meet to engage in an informal discussion on a given topic (Click here to see topics).
These topics are discussed at two Stewards' Circles each month - the "Second Tuesday." The Second Tuesday Stewards' Circles are held in the morning from 7:30 to 8:30 am at Bruegger's Bagels on N University, Ann Arbor.
Huron Arbor Cluster 2009 Events
All workshops require pre-registration. To fill out a registration form, click the link the event's name.
Checklist for Event Coordinators
Click here for a list of past events
New! Are you looking to share a ride to an event? Follow this link to the carpooling section of our forum to post requests or offers for ride shares!
Assessing Natural Areas: Rapid Ecological Assessment
Registration is full. If you would be interested in attending future trainings, please contact Kirs Olsson of the Huron River Watershed Council at kolsson@hrwc.org
May 2, Saturday 10:00 am to 4:00 pm
Cost: Free
Location: Matthaei Botanical Gardens
You can help identify high-quality natural areas for protection. At this workshop, new volunteers for the Huron River Watershed Council will learn to conduct a rapid ecological assessment of grasslands, forests, wetlands, and aquatic habitats. Trained volunteers are then certified to be sent out in groups to work together on site assessments throughout the spring, summer, and fall (an expected time commitment of four hours per site). Participants will gain broadly applicable skills in ecological assessment. Please bring a sack lunch. The workshop includes hands-on practice outdoors, so come prepared for weather and mud. For more information, call Kris Olsson of the HRWC at (734) 769-5123.
Download event flyers here!
Hands-on Invasive Plant Control Techniques
May 30, Saturday 10:00 am to 4:00 pm
Cost: $10/$15
Location: Leslie Science & Nature Center
How do you control garlic mustard, buckthorn, European bittersweet, purple loosestrife? Have you ever wondered which invasive plant you should be tackling first, which you can leave for later? Did you know that proper timing is key to successfully controlling specific invasives? David Mindell of Plantwise will lead this workshop in the classroom and in the field. Participants will learn the range of best control options for the worst of Michigan’s invaders. You will learn how to choose a preferred control method based upon your organization’s restrictions and preferences; specific site conditions; and invaders that are present or near-by. Implementation of specific techniques will be demonstrated or discussed and participants will have an opportunity to try their hand at using various tools and techniques.
Huron River Ecology Hike
July 11, Saturday 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm
Cost: $10/$15
Location: Gallup Park Canoe Livery, 3000 Fuller Rd. Ann Arbor
Do you know your local wild places? Challenge your knowledge of local plants and animals along the Huron Riverfront. Impacts continue to alter the riverine landscape and cause further fragmentation and degradation. We will explore native and non-native plant communities and question whether it is possible to have a healthy urban riverfront. Emphasis will be on the riparian interface between river edge and its place in the urban setting. We will discuss why native flora and fauna matter, and raise issues on how urban rivers can stay healthy. Are communities within the Huron River Watershed becoming sustainable or are they continuing to degrade this valuable river section?
How to Get Kids Involved in Nature
July 18, Saturday 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm
Cost: $10/$15
Location: Buhr Park Children’s Wet Meadow II, located next to the Buhr Park tennis courts
The Buhr Park Children's Wet Meadow was inspired and created by children. And those kids, ages 3-23, still maintain the wet meadows and their connections to nature more than 10 years later. This workshop is for parents, educators and others who want to help kids become involved with environmental stewardship. Jeannine Palms, Andy Brush and the Super Swampers of the Buhr Park Children's Wet Meadow Project will first lead a discussion of how to involve children in nature and then lead an abbreviated workday. Come prepared to spend time outside.
Green Roofs
July 22, Wednesday 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Cost: $10/$15
Location: Matthaei Botanical Gardens
Green Roofs help to detain and filter rain water. They offer a green oasis in a sea of roof tar and asphalt shingles. They look pretty darn neat too. Join Dan Mooney for this introductory workshop on Green Roofs and learn the first steps of how to build and maintain one yourself. Call the Stewardship Network office at (734) 996-3190 if you have any questions leading up to the event.
Approaching Forest Ecosystems - "Forests are More Than the Sum of Their Trees"
September 2, Wednesday 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm
Cost: $10/$15
Location: Leslie Science & Nature Center
September 5, Saturday 10:00 am to 1:00 pm
Cost: $10/$15
Location: Matthaei Botanical Gardens
Join us for this two-part workshop series (you may attend either one or both workshops). Developing an appropriate forest preserve management plan requires an understanding of multiple site factors, including an estimate of the pre-European settlement vegetation, topography, soils, current vegetation, disturbance, and current flora. Robert Ayotte, forest ecology consultant and steward, reviews glacial landforms and there relationship to soils, hydrology, and vegetation with the goal of estimating the ecological potentials within forested preserves. The Saturday field trip into Radrick Forest (Matthaei Botanical Gardens) will focus on three closely situated, but vastly different forest ecosystems and there characteristic landforms and soils.
Identifying Trees in All Seasons
October 10, Saturday 9:00 am to 12:00 pm
Cost: $10/$15
Location: TBD
Can you name that tree? Join Burton Barnes, UM Professor of Forestry, at a local forest (to be announced) to learn how to differentiate tree species. We’ll look at leaves, buds, and bark and examine where trees grow. These key characteristics will help you identify trees in all seasons. At this workshop, you’ll enjoy an autumn morning and get hands-on practice at tree identification. This workshop is outdoors with easy to moderate walking. Come prepared for the autumn weather and field conditions.
Native Seed Collection
October 18, Sunday 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm workday, 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm ID workshop
Cost: Free
Location: Island Lake Recreation Area
Ever wonder how to collect native prairie seeds? Laurel Malvitz will teach you how to identify plants without their flowers, how to know when the seed is ready, how much to collect, and how to store and process the seed. Get hands-on experience identifying and collecting different species of native grasses and wildflowers. This workshop is outdoors with easy to moderate walking. Come prepared for the autumn weather and field conditions in an open prairie setting.
Year End Celebration
December 5, Saturday 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Cost: Free
Location: Matthaei Botanical Gardens
Join us in celebrating the Huron Arbor Cluster's successes throughout 2009.
No registration required, just show up for a good time!
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