Getting a little wet at the training.

Assessment training complete, volunteers prepared to “hit the field” this summer.

A few rain showers heightened the spirits and enthusiasm of 30-some volunteers who gathered at Independence Lake County Park, in Washtenaw County, to learn how to participate in HRWC’s Bioreserve Project.  Project Director Kris Olsson described the importance of natural areas in keeping the Huron healthy, and the mission of the Bioreserve Project: to assess and find the highest quality natural areas and work towards their permanent protection.  ”The reason the Huron is the cleanest river in Southeast Michigan is because of the still large, intact natural areas in our watershed,” Kris explained.  ”These natural areas filter polluted runoff, keep creeks and the river flowing cool and constant, and provide wildlife habitat and places to hike, fish, and paddle.”

After lunch, participants headed out to the park’s beautiful forests and wetlands, and the restored “Indy Prairie,” where a patch of yellow lady’s slippers were in full bloom.  Participants practiced the assessments on these natural areas in preparation for going out all over the watershed to perform them on properties throughout the summer.

The information from the assessments will help conservancies, local governments, and other preservation programs target their efforts on protecting the highest quality natural areas, so they can continue to help keep the river clean.

For more information about the Bioreserve Project and how to volunteer, contact Kris Olsson.

Birding with City Ornithologist Dea Armstrong

Birding in Gallup Park with 45 of our closest friends

Last Friday night we took a bird walk through Gallup Park and Furstenberg Park with city Ornithologist Dea Armstrong. After a quick lesson on the proper use of binoculars, we spent two hours exploring the diverse bird population in two of our  city parks.  On our adventure we saw  Mute Swan, Canada Goose, Mallard, Great Blue Heron, Turkey Vulture, Red-tailed Hawk, Mourning Dove, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Warbling Vireo, Blue Jay, American Crow, Barn Swallow, Cliff Swallow, Black-capped Chickadee, American Robin, Gray Catbird, European Starling, Yellow Warbler, Song Sparrow, Northern Cardinal, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Red-winged Blackbird, Common Grackle, Baltimore Oriole, House Finch, American Goldfinch and House Sparrow for a total of 29 different species. The early and unusual abundance of leaves on the trees made bird watching more challenging and more rewarding.

There are two more bird walks coming up  and we encourage everyone to take advantage of Dea’s 20 plus years of experience and enthusiasm.

Bird Walk
June 2, Saturday
Wheeler Service Center
7:30 am to 9:30 am
Free and fun for all ages. Join City Ornithologist Dea Armstrong as she leads a walk to look for early summer birds at the old landfill site – a great birdwatching spot! Please come prepared to walk in fields with tall grasses.  Bring binoculars if you have them, but they are not necessary. Meet in the small parking lot on the right off the main entrance to the Material Recovery Facility off of Platt Rd. just south of Ellsworth.

Bird Walk
June 9, Saturday
Gallup Park
7:30 am to 9:30 am
Free for all ages and family-friendly! Join City Ornithologist Dea Armstrong as she leads a walk to look for birds in the morning in Gallup Park and Furstenberg Nature Area. Bring binoculars if you have them, but they are not necessary. Meet at the paddleboat dock in Gallup near the canoe livery.

Thrilled to see a breached Condit Dam

River Rally 2012 is underway in Portland, Oregon. I’m here with Laura, Kris, Pam and Jason and 600 members of the international watershed conservation community. For those of us who work to protect rivers, River Network’s Rally is the event of the year for sharing successes, making new connections, and seeing friends from across the country.

Field trips during Rally offer us the chance to see local rivers and hear directly from our peers about their projects. The five of us fanned out across the Portland area on Sunday to witness the following cool projects:

• Stream restoration via bicycle along the Springwater Corridor Trail that runs alongside Johnson Creek including a large salmon habitat enhancement project on the Willamette River built in 2011 with engineered log jams and a constructed riffle

• The decommissioned Condit Dam (October 2011) and newly free-flowing White Salmon River with a tour lead by the company and advocates directly involved in efforts to remove the dam

• Innovative green infrastructure projects in the City of Portland including a daylighted stream integrated into a housing project, ecoroofs, habitat restoration, and community-based green infrastructure

Floodplain restoration project on Johnson Creek

We’ve also been reminded that clean water makes great beer!

7th Graders Meet Fleming Creek!

21 HRWC volunteers, led by the fabulous Dave Wilson, showcased water quality through hands-on experiments with the entire 7th grade class of Greenhills School. For details see the Greenhills story here:

www.greenhillsschool.org/news-events/news-archive/2012-04-25/7th-graders-spend-day-collecting-data-fleming-creek

Our educational programing will next be at Mill Creek School in Dexter. If you are interested in helping with this program, please fill out our volunteer registration form and let us know: www.hrwc.org/volunteer/registration-for-first-time-volunteers.

Date: May 6th, 2012

Time: Noon – 4pm

Location: Kent Lake Beach at Island Lake State Rec Area  12950 E. Grand River Ave Brighton, MI 48116

Peregrine Demo Admission: $10

Schedule

(12:30-1:00)  Overview and Demo of all Peregrine Products

(1:00-1:45)    Comfort Safety & Rescue

(1:45-2:30)    How we Build Our Kayaks

(2:30-3:15)    Advance Your Skills

HRWC is partnering with Peregrine Kayaks, a new local company that builds beautiful hand-crafted kayaks. Please visit their website for information on the design and construction of their kayaks at www.peregrinekayaks.com. Join us out on Kent Lake this Sunday from noon to 4pm for a demo hosted by Peregrine Kayaks. The first seminar and demonstration is all about increasing your comfort, safety and rescue skills out on the water. It will discuss outfitting, comfort, and tips on how to organize your kayak. There will also be a workshop on how Peregine designs, tests and builds the hand-crafted kayaks. It will also cover the nuts and bolts of maintaining and repairing kayaks. The last session, called Advance Your Skills, will offer techniques to track straight, turn, and go sideways! Snacks and refreshments will be provided all day.

We hope that you’ll enjoy us for this fun and informational event out on Kent Lake with Peregrine Kayaks!

Peregrine Kayaks is donating all proceeds of this event to HRWC!

Register and sign-up at www.peregrinekayaks.com  

Photo taken by Jeff Oleksinski.

Friday, May 11^th

Evening Bird Walk, 6-8 p.m.

Saturday, June 9^th

Early Morning Bird Walk, 7:30-9:30 a.m.

Dea received her MS degree from the University of Michigan’s School of Natural Resources in 1998, and the same year she started working as the City of Ann Arbor Ornithologist in the Natural Area Preservation (NAP) unit. She is also active in the Washtenaw Audubon Society. Like many of us at HRWC, she is passionate about protecting birds’ natural habitat.

Meet us at the Gallup Canoe Livery Paddle Boat Dock for both of the bird walks.  Early May is the time of year when many migrant birds are passing through our area, looking for partners, and building nests.  By June, many birds move on, but those that are breeding are busy feeding young.  We hope to get a glimpse of this in action- and many other surprises- on our walk!  Please bring binoculars if you have them, but they are not necessary.

Contact Emily Provonsha at recreation@hrwc.org with any questions.

Mission Zero Fest 2012: Water Hill, June 9 and 10

Mission Zero Fest is a unique event unlike anything that’s been seen before — it’s part sustainability symposium, part environmental exhibition, part green home tour, and partneighborhood block party. While speakers and workshops exhibit the how and why of sustainability, organizations will exhibit an array of green products and services for living a healthier, more comfortable life with a lighter footprint. Mission Zero Fest offers grassroots solutions to a complex global problem, designed to inspire a greener, more fulfilling lifestyle in our homes.

The two-day event is an opportunity to tour six ultra-green homes, attend workshops led by renowned sustainability experts, grab some delicious local food, and dance in the streets with an incredible array of top musical acts. The event is a celebration of neighborhoods and communities that harvest their energy and water needs and produce no waste.

Mission Zero Fest takes place Saturday, June 9 from 10am to 6pm and Sunday, June 10 from 11am to 4pm in Ann Arbor’s Water Hill neighborhood, located just northwest of downtown.

Volunteer With HRWC or the Fest!

HRWC will be speaking and exhibiting at Mission Zero Fest and sharing our Saving Water Saves Energy program, tips and tools. We need a few people to help staff our table. Contact Pam Labadie at HRWC, plabadie@hrwc.org, to sign up for a 2-3 hour shift at the HRWC booth on Sat, June 9, 10am-6pm or Sun, June 10, 11am-4pm.

The Mission Zero Fest organizers also need help before, during, and after. This is a great opportunity to network, share expertise, and give back to the community. REGISTER HERE to help. For more information, visit www.MissionZeroFest.org, email info@missionzerofest.org or call Monica Patel at 734-369-9277.

Meet the Photographers Wednesday May 2 at 5 p.m.

Sweetwaters Coffee and Tea located at the corner of Washington & Ashley in  Ann Arbor

Please join us as we officially open the photo exhibit  featuring the work of community calendar photographers Marc Akeman, Ted Nelson and Keith Matz. Don’t miss this opportunity to meet the photographers at the opening reception courtesy of our host Lisa Bee, proprietor of Sweetwaters.  The exhibit is an opportunity to view the photography in a gallery like setting and see the work that was not included in the calendar. Over thirty photos that highlight the beauty and wonder of the Huron River and the surrounding watershed will  be on exhibit  until May 31.

Photographers Ted, Keith and Marc hanging their show.

A section of Traver Creek that runs through Leslie Park Golf Course in Ann Arbor will be reconstructed later this year to improve and restore many of its natural features. The City of Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County Water Resources Commissioner are funding the project to address a section of the creek that has eroded over time.

Vision for reconstruction of Traver Creek

The project partners are holding a public event to discuss the draft design tonight, April 30 at 7:30 pm at the Leslie Science Center. The meeting is open to all.

The project will also reconstruct portions of ponds at either end of the creek section. Those ponds will be deepened to provide more rainwater storage capacity and be redesigned to provide sediment settling areas.

Eroded stream banks will be reshaped and repaired, and a new floodplain area will be created along a portion of the creek. This “two-stage” design provides streamside wetlands that slow flood waters down and filter out nutrients and pollutants. Additional wetland areas will also be recreated where there is evidence of their previous existence. The wetlands provide further stormwater filtration capacity as well as wildlife habitat. A secondary stream channel will also be re-established where it used to run prior to construction of the golf course. The whole project will be vegetated with native plant materials.

The project will begin following the end of the golf season and should be mostly completed by the spring start of the 2013 golf season. HRWC are monitoring the site before and after construction to measure its impact. Benefits should include runoff volume, phosphorus and sediment reductions to address problems identified in watershed management plans.

Sara Thomas, Executive Director of the Livingston Land Conservancy, and LLC members enjoying a field assessent in a fen.

After a record-breaking March and a more typically cool April, we don’t know what we’ll find out in the field this spring!  I’ve seen trilliums blooming (usually they come out in late May) just uphill of freshly sprouting skunk cabbage (usually a harbinger of early spring in early April).  I can’t wait to get our annual Bioreserve Field Assessment season started!

Join us in surveying the woods and wetlands in the Huron watershed!

WHAT: Volunteers go out in groups to work together on rapid site assessments of grasslands, forests, wetlands, and aquatic habitats throughout the spring, summer and fall (an expected time commitment of four hours per site).

Volunteers must first attend a training where you learn how you can help identify high-quality natural areas for protection as part of the Bioreserve Project. Participants will gain broadly applicable skills in ecological assessment. Please bring a sack lunch. The workshop includes hands-on practice outdoors, so please come prepared for weather and mud.

WHO: All volunteers are welcome, but if you are experienced in plant identification, we especially need your help! Every team will need at least one “plant person” (someone who has some experience with identifying plants). If you have had a plant identification class, or have become familiar with wildflowers, grasses, and trees over time spent hiking this beautiful watershed, we’d love your help! “Plant People” do not need to attend the training; all other volunteers do.

WHERE: The next training will be at Independence Lake County Park. After attending training, volunteers use the Volunteer Page to sign up to go to natural areas throughout the Huron Watershed throughout the field season.

WHEN: Training session:

2012 Field season: May – October 2012.

MORE INFO: Contact Kris at kolsson@hrwc.org or 734-769-5123 x 607.

NEXT STEP:

If you are a first time volunteer, you need to first go to our First time volunteer form

Then, you can register with the Bioreserve Rapid Field Assessment Training Registration form