GRCC Sense of Place Project: Ackerman Home Walk:

Join us for another GRCC field trip as we continue to refine our “sense of place” together throughout the headwaters area of the Grand River and River Raisin. Sunday May 21^st from 2pm – 4pm we will explore the 60acre Ackerman Farm. It is a mixture of mature woodlands and emerging savanna located on the southwest side of Jackson, just a couple miles from the Grand River and bordering the Falling Waters Trail. The property is in its first year of ecological restoration efforts.

Guides for the hike will be owner Scott McIntosh and Jeremy Siegrist from the Iron Creek Ecological Restoration Crew.

Parking / location: Please see falling water trail map. People should park at the Weatherwax trailhead which is less than 1 mile walk to our property.

Trail map: https://www.co.jackson.mi.us/DocumentCenter/View/6313/Falling-Waters-Trail-Map

“Home” means many things. Ideally it implies a sense of familiarity and sanctuary. It is a place we long to return to when we have been away.  A good home is well stocked with provisions, but it is not simply a house. It is often an extended area, a territory we move around in comfortably, a place where we have learned how to procure what sustains us and provide for our needs and the needs of those under our care. Home is a local community of family, friends, and neighbors (including plants and animals). It is also an area of stores, schools, churches, with sources of entertainment and recreation. Both political and natural boundaries shape our understanding of home. When asked where we are from we might say we are from a certain city, county or state; or we might be inclined to say we are from a dominant feature of the landscape such as the Rocky Mountains, or the Great Lakes. The natural landscape is arguably the more essential and enduring foundation of home when compared to the artifacts of civilization that we have placed upon it. Yet the natural areas are often the less known, understood, and appreciated dimension of home. This series of GRCC walks aims to remedy that, if only a little, through open ended group exploration of local natural areas both public and private. Hopefully we can learn to pay better attention to the details of the ecosystems we inhabit and begin to notice what is unique to our little place in the world.

The Grand Raisin Conservation Community is a local affiliate of the Stewardship Network.  It is composed of partner organizations and individuals with an interest in the ecological health of the landscapes we inhabit.  For more information email Bob Kellum at rfkellum52@yahoo.com or Jeremy Siegrist at theillalogicalspoon@gmail.com . For support day of the walk, call Jeremy at 734-972-6564