Highland Conservancy

FROM FIELDS TO FOREST By Katheryn Krupa

Over 40 people showed up on Sunday, October 11th to plant trees along White Lake Road near Eagle Road in Highland as part of the Faith in Action initiative at Highland United Methodist Church.  Working with the Highland Conservancy and other local groups, the church set out to "be the church" by planting trees, picking up trash from the Huron River and helping out throughout the community.  It was exciting to see little children work alongside moms and dads to regenerate a healthy ecosystem from land that had previously been destroyed by a developer.  The children learned the importance of planting a variety of pines, oaks and acorns and how we need to be good stewards of our planet.  Kid's church teacher Mary Lloyd taught them the names of the seedlings and acorns, then showed them how to plant and water the trees.  Over 2,000 acorns and over a hundred saplings were planted, mulched and watered.  Wow!  Thanks to all who turned out to make a difference.

New program to help save Boy Scout and other wilderness camps by Kirt Manecke

Milford, Mich. –Across the nation, large wilderness camps that have nurtured interest in the outdoors for generations are being put up for sale. The troubling trend comes amid rising awareness that American children need far more time outdoors,and selling big camps—including some of our most famous Boy Scout camps—works directly against solving the problem that author Richard Louv called “nature deficit disorder.” In response, LandChoices <http://www.landchoices.org/>, a Michigan-based
non-profit of national scope, is launching a new program to help save the big camps that are so important to America’s outdoor heritage, our outdoor future and our children’s health. Called ,
“Big Camps<http://www.landchoices.org/bigcamps.htm>”,
the program offers camp directors and boards specific and useful how-to advice for saving wild lands. The LandChoices’ program provides two key solutions to prevent the sale of big camps.

1. The program provides state-of-the-art, easy-to-understand information about using land conservation easements <http://www.landchoices.org/preserveland.htm>to permanently preserve Big Camp lands, and thereby eliminate the temptation to sell the camp for development.

2. The program helps increase big camp operating revenues with targeted information for improving fund-raising effectiveness.

“The problem is that many non-profit boards are seeing declining revenues and are looking at selling big camps as a way to raise money to cover operating expenses,” says Kirt Manecke, Founder and President of LandChoices. “But selling land assets to cover operating expenses is unfortunately a short-sighted solution that diminishes our children’s access to nature and doesn’t really solve the core problem of too little cash flow. If these camps are sold, they will never be replaced because the cost of land today is simply too great.”

Manecke decided to launch “Big Camps” after reading the best selling book *Last Child in the Woods; Saving our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder by Richard Louv. The book points to studies that show connecting children with nature leads to lower levels of ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), anxiety and depression. The book also points out that nature is potent therapy for childhood obesity.

For more information about LandChoices’ “Big Camps” solutions, visit www.landchoice.org/bigcamps.htm or contact Kirt Manecke at info@landchoices.org.

OXBOW RECEIVES GREEN SCHOOL AWARD by Katheryn Krupa

Oxbow Community School, an elementary school in Huron Valley, has won the honor of being a “green school” - an initiative sponsored by Oakland County and Oakland Schools to promote more ecologically based, earth friendly activities within our schools: www.oakgov.com/waste/green_school/this_year.html   With earth day fast approaching, many people are realizing that being green goes far beyond recycling or turning out the lights.  Oxbow’s teachers have gone above and beyond to achieve this significant award.  Chris McAuliffe’s fifth grade class can honestly say they are “off the grid” and power their classroom using solar panels.  They even made solar ovens!  They have been creating miniature motorcycles made totally from junked VCR machines (above).  The school recycles the usual cell phones, printer cartridges, paper and magazines.  There is a dumpster sized bin next to the school for the local community to use to recycle newspapers.  Oxbow’s art teacher is a master scavenger and goes to area restaurants to recycle their wine bottles and collects huge volumes of egg cartons, cereal boxes, paper towel tubes and magazines to use in her art projects.  "Why use paper when you can paint the school’s ceiling tiles?  Students enjoy the novelty and it leaves a lasting legacy for future students to enjoy," she reported.  Finally Oxbow’s Lego team was the first elementary school to be invited to compete at Nationals as a result of their in depth research and understanding of ecological issues affecting climate change.  Congratulations Oxbow!

TUNE IN TO EARTH HOUR AND TURN OFF YOUR LIGHTS By Katheryn Krupa

 

Tomorrow night, Saturday March 28th, everyone around the world is being asked to turn out their lights from 8:30pm until 9:30pm.  It is hoped that over 3 billion people will decide to do so and maybe, just maybe,we might have a small taste of the incredible beauty of our night sky without all the normal light pollution.  This is being sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund to raise awareness of climate change and our need to help a planet in crisis.  If you are interested in the Earth Hour project, go to: http://www.worldwildlife.org/sites/earthhour/index.html for more information.  So please, pass this message on to turn out your lights at 8:30 tomorrow night, step outside...and enjoy the view.

UNUSUAL ELECTRICITY DRAIN By Katheryn Krupa

Recently, I read of a way to save roughly $200 a year on your electric bill.  It's as simple as unplugging appliances when not in use.  Things such as TV's, radios, computers, coffee makers, and just about anything else draw a surprising amount of power even when turned off.  Rather than manually unplugging each appliance, the easiest method is to turn off the switch to your power surge suppressor.  Don't have one?  You should.  We blew out a TV during a lightning storm by not having it plugged into one.  If you already turn off the lights when you leave a room, this is one more way to save money and help save the planet!

CONSERVATION STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM by Katheryn Krupa

Are you interested in finding out more about Michigan's ecosystems?  Have you ever wondered how Kensington manages its deer population and why?  Do you hear about things like garlic mustard, phragmites or zebra mussels and wonder what they look like?  Are you interested in walking through a real life Michigan prairie?  Would you like to learn more about wildfires and find out how to protect your home or cabin from harm?  MSU Extension will again be offering the Michigan Conservation Stewards Program starting in February 2009.  This is an outstanding program that goes into depth in a variety of areas such as learning to identify trees, native grasses, and invasive species to hands-on experience in learning to assess water quality by collecting aquatic insects and examining them under microscopes.  If you have not enrolled yet, I highly recommend this program.  I remember thinking I already knew a great deal, yet each class left me feeling incredibly enriched and realizing how thankful I was to be learning in such a easy, fun, and interesting way.

For more information use the following links:
MSU Oakland CSP Brochure:  http://www.msue.msu.edu/go/go.cfm?0100>
http://www.msue.msu.edu/go/go.cfm?0100 

MSU Oakland CSP Application Packet:
<http://www.msue.msu.edu/go/go.cfm?0101>
http://www.msue.msu.edu/go/go.cfm?0101 

Linda Smith
 
Michigan State University Extension
1200 N. Telegraph Rd
Pontiac, MI  48341
248-858-0887
FAX  248-858-1477
Email- smithlin@oakgov.com

Environmental Art a Hit by Katheryn Krupa

At our recent art teacher inservice, Huron Valley Art teacher Denise Forrest shared how she took the bold step of creating environmental art with her Country Oaks Elementary students.  Following in the footsteps of artist Andy Goldsworthy, earlier this spring she invited her students to explore the fields, woods, and land surrounding the school to gather their "materials".  In teams of two to four, the children then created their own sculptures and amazing artwork using leaves, grass, dandelions, tall fronds of Phragmites, sticks and stones.  The results were outstanding works of eco-art meant to naturally biodegrade.  She also showed a DVD of Goldsworthy's art that was awe inspiring!  It depicted the artist carefully and reverently working to create his natural sculptures.  "With today's fast paced society, our students need to learn how to take time to slow down and appreciate the natural beauty of the outdoors.  This was an excellent opportunity for them and one they truly enjoyed," reported Forrest. 

CLIMATE CHANGE IS LEGO LEAGUE CHALLENGE by Katheryn Krupa

Sub Zero Survivors - Oxbow Community School 

This year's Lego League challenge is the issue of climate change.  Our local area boasts several teams, top among them being the Muir Middle School, Oxbow Elementary and Charyl Stockwell Academy teams.  Charyl Stockwell will be competing at State in mid December!  Oxbow's Sub Zero Survivors placed 5th overall at State and the Incredible Ice Breaker's robot placed 16th out of 48 teams -very impressive! The work all these teams have done is nothing short of amazing to me.  They visited weather stations, interviewed key advisors on issues related to climate change and done some top notch research. Whether they win or not is not as important in my view as the knowledge they are gaining in how to work as a team to create and accomplish something, as well as what they are learning about climate change.  Our earth is facing an impending crisis of monumental proportions if we (or more likely our children) don't do something to turn things around soon.  These fifth through eighth graders are researching everything from rising oceans to habitat change to destructive changes in the earth's atmosphere.

Pictured above, Legolution from Charyl Stockwell Academy 

  

Incredible Ice Breakers - Oxbow Community School

GARLIC MUSTARTD - DASTARDLY DESTRUCTIVE By Katheryn Krupa

        

It is hard to believe that something that can end up in my salad can be so destructive.  Yet once this invasive gets into an area, it quickly smothers all native vegetation and soon blankets the forest.  What's wrong with that?  As with other invasive plants, garlic mustard pushes out flowers and plants that a variety of creatures need to live on, upsetting entire ecosystems. Once it gets into an area, it smothers everything else out. Join us Saturday, May 17th from 12:30 until 3:30 at our new park, Highland Oaks.  We will spend a few hours pulling garlic mustard while enjoying the park.  The event is hosted by the Highland Conservancy and Oakland County Parks.  We will meet at the Milford Road parking area, a half mile north of White Lake Road.  Meet new friends and make a difference!  Wear old clothes, boots, sunscreen and a smile.  Gloves, water and snacks will be provided.  Contact Dave Pollard at 248-889-9558 for more info.

LAKE FRIENDLY FERTILIZER By Katheryn Krupa

Most if not all of our lakes in Michigan and throughout the U.S. are suffering from overgrowth of weeds and algae.  Recently it has been discovered this can be traced back to lawn fertilizer (and run-off) that is too high in phosphorus.  If you live on Duck Lake, White Lake, or any of our local lakes, you probably enjoy having a lush green lawn.  Maybe you hire Chem-Lawn or spread your own fertilizer.  PLEASE take the time to be sure your company or fertilizer uses NO PHOSPHORUS.  It has been directly linked to poor water quality, algae blooms and overgrowth of lake weeds.  Michigan already has soil rich in phosphorus and there is no need to overload your lawn with it, even for newly seeded lawns.  Google up fertlizer and phosphorus and you can find a ton of information.  One pound of phosphorous creates 500 pounds of algae!  So as you get ready for spring, help protect your lake and SAY NO TO PHOSPHOROUS!