Please come out and join us for one of these free events! NAP is closely monitoring recommendations from city and other health officials, and adapting workday protocols accordingly.
Please remember to dress for the weather and wear shoes suitable for uneven terrain and working off-trail. Please wear long pants, closed-toed shoes, and leather work gloves. All minors should be accompanied by a guardian. Please stay home if you're not feeling well.
June
Stewards' Circle
Tuesday, June 8, 7:30-8:30 a.m.
Zoom Meeting
Are you interested in learning more about how to care for our natural areas? Then join the Stewardship Network's Huron Arbor Cluster for an informal discussion on a monthly topic with volunteer and professional land stewards, plus others interested in nature. Free! For more information go to www.stewardshipnetwork.org. To launch the Zoom meeting, use this link: http://tinyurl.com/SCZoom2021. (OR call Toll free, 888 788 0099, or 877 853 5247)
This month's topic: Rain Garden Q&A. Thinking of building a rain garden this year? Get your questions answered from local rain garden doyen Susan Bryan. She has taught the Master Rain Gardener class for 10 years and has seen it all! Learn how to avoid pitfalls (ha ha! rain garden humor!). Bring your photos and we can go over specific options about your yard.
Stewardship Workday
Saturday, June 12, 9 a.m. to noon
Dolph Nature Area
If you're not a birder, you might not know that there are two natural lakes in one park on the west side of Ann Arbor. First and Second Sister Lakes are popular among birders due to the more than 140 bird species that can be found there throughout the year. Join us to improve this habitat that serves quite a wide variety of needs. Pre-registration through VolunteerHub is required as space is limited. Please wear long pants, closed-toed shoes, and gardening gloves. All minors should be accompanied by a guardian. Tools and know-how provided. Meeting location will be provided at registration. Register here. (http://tinyurl.com/DolphJun12)
Stewardship Workday
Saturday, June 12, 1 to 4 p.m.
Lakewood Nature Area
Although Lakewood Nature Area is somewhat small, it is connected to several other parks through which park visitors can continue their hikes. The hills are blanketed by oak-hickory woodlands, with a rich understory of wildflowers. Join NAP staff and other volunteers to remove invasive plants to protect this well-loved park! Pre-registration through VolunteerHub is required as space is limited. Please wear long pants, closed-toed shoes, and gardening gloves. All minors should be accompanied by a guardian. Tools and know-how provided. Meeting location will be provided at registration. Register here. (http://tinyurl.com/LakewoodJun12)
Stewardship Workday
Sunday, June 13, 1 to 4 p.m.
Barton Nature Area
Barton Nature Area contains one of nature's own water-management solutions; oxbow wetlands. The Huron River Watershed benefits greatly from the filtration, and flood mitigation, provided by the oxbow at Barton – and its habitat for a variety of wildlife to boot. Help us maintain and protect this unique location by removing non-native plants in and around the wetlands. Pre-registration through VolunteerHub is required as space is limited. Please wear long pants, closed-toed shoes, and gardening gloves. All minors should be accompanied by a guardian. Tools and know-how provided. Meeting location will be provided at registration. Register here (http://tinyurl.com/BartonJun13)
Stewardship Workday
Saturday, June 19, 9 a.m. to noon
Huron Hills Golf Course Woods
This natural area is a hidden gem framing the west side of Huron Hills Golf Course. Join us to hand pull invasive plants in the shade of oaks, maples, and sassafras. You might also catch a glimpse of a fox, coyote, or wild turkey who call this nature area home. Pre-registration through VolunteerHub is required as space is limited. Please wear long pants, closed-toed shoes, and gardening gloves. All minors should be accompanied by a guardian. Tools and know-how provided. Meeting location will be provided at registration. Register here. (http://tinyurl.com/HHGCWJun19)
Stewardship Workday
Sunday, June 27, 9 a.m. to noon
Bluffs Nature Area
Are you looking for a chance to make an impact at a neighborhood park? Over the years, Bluffs Nature Area has accumulated a bounty of large, heavy pieces of trash like snow mobiles and jacks. We need your help to remove this large equipment from the park and keep our natural areas clean. If you're up for the challenge, join us to haul these objects out of the park. This will be NAP's most physically demanding workday of the year. Pre-registration through VolunteerHub is required as space is limited. Please wear extra heavy work pants, a thick shirt, close-toed shoes, and very sturdy leather gloves. All minors should be accompanied by a guardian, but this would not be a good event to bring children. Tools and know-how provided. Meeting location will be provided at registration. Register here. (http://tinyurl.com/BluffsJun27) **the time of this workday has been changed to 9 a.m.**
July
Stewardship Workday
Sunday, July 11, 1 to 4 p.m.
Olson Park
If you were heading to this spot during the year NAP was formed (1993) you'd have said, “meet me at the gravel pit." Planning to stop by in 2013, it would have been, “meet me at the habitat of the largest population of indigo duskywings in Ann Arbor." These days you could say, “meet me at that ecological success story, Olson Park!" Meet us at Olson Park to pull invasive weeds and bolster this important habitat. Pre-registration through VolunteerHub is required as space is limited. Please wear long pants, closed-toed shoes, and gardening gloves. All minors should be accompanied by a guardian. Tools and know-how provided. Meeting location will be provided at registration. Register here. (https://tinyurl.com/Olson071121)
Stewardship Workday
Saturday, July 17, 1 to 4 p.m.
Kuebler Langford Nature Area
Look around while you're working with us at Kuebler Langford Nature Area during the summer and you may be treated to a fly-by from a Scarlet Tanager, or a wink from a little toad, or a red-backed salamander. Or perhaps you'll find the elusive spicebush and enjoy its fragrance, or admire the delicate fronds of a maidenhair fern. At this NAP stewardship workday, we will be hand-pulling invasive plants—and helping interested volunteers spot some of the species we are supporting through stewardship. Pre-registration through VolunteerHub is required as space is limited. Please wear long pants, closed-toed shoes, and gardening gloves. All minors should be accompanied by a guardian. Tools and know-how provided. Meeting location will be provided at registration. Register here. (https://tinyurl.com/Kueble071721)
Stewardship Workday
Saturday, July 24, 9 a.m. to noon
Furstenberg Nature Area
In 1992 and 1995, native seeds were planted in the prairies at Furstenberg Nature Area. Now, one can see well-established natives such as prairie dock, Indian grass, butterfly-weed, smooth false foxglove, stiff goldenrod, and round-headed bush clover. At this workday we will be pulling non-native invasive plants to support the health of the prairie, and if you join us, we're always eager to help interested volunteers locate and identify some of the flora and fauna thriving here because of volunteer efforts. Pre-registration through VolunteerHub is required as space is limited. Please wear long pants, closed-toed shoes, and gardening gloves. All minors should be accompanied by a guardian. Tools and know-how provided. Meeting location will be provided at registration. Register here. (https://tinyurl.com/Furste072421A)
Stewardship Workday
Saturday, July 24, 1 to 4 p.m.
Furstenberg Native Plant Garden
Did you know that there is a native plant garden at Furstenberg Nature Area? Separate from the prairies, woodland, and wetland areas, near the entrance to Furstenberg, is a lovely native planting, just buzzing and thrumming with activity from pollinators and other wildlife who depend on native plants for crucial habitat resources. This unique patch has at times served as a demonstration garden to give folks a working idea of what a native garden can look like—and how to care for it. Help us as we spend an afternoon tending to this living, breathing ecology-minded recruiting tool. Pre-registration through VolunteerHub is required as space is limited. Please wear long pants, closed-toed shoes, and gardening gloves. All minors should be accompanied by a guardian. Tools and know-how provided. Meeting location will be provided at registration. Register here. (https://tinyurl.com/Furste072421B)
Stewardship Workday
Saturday, July 24, 1 to 4 p.m.
Ruthven Nature Area
Join us to become part of the legacy of NAP crew-members and volunteers who have worked hard to turn a little pocket of native plants well hidden behind a thick wall of shrubs into the lovely prairie that can be found there today. We'll be focusing on protecting this prairie by hand-pulling invasives during this workday. Pre-registration through VolunteerHub is required as space is limited. Please wear long pants, closed-toed shoes, and gardening gloves. All minors should be accompanied by a guardian. Tools and know-how provided. Meeting location will be provided at registration. Register here. (https://tinyurl.com/Ruthve072421)
Stewardship Workday
Sunday, July 25, 1 to 4 p.m.
Bird Hills Nature Area
If you are willing to work to restore our natural areas, then you are already part of the NAP community! We'd love if you'd join us in-person at one of Ann Arbor's largest parks—which is also the site of the first NAP volunteer workday in 1993. Let's keep up the good work together, by pulling invasive plants like hedge parsley. Pre-registration through VolunteerHub is required as space is limited. Please wear long pants, closed-toed shoes, and gardening gloves. All minors should be accompanied by a guardian. Tools and know-how provided. Meeting location will be provided at registration. Register here. (https://tinyurl.com/BirdHi072521)
Stewardship Workday
Saturday, July 31, 9 a.m. to noon
Bluffs Nature Area
Are you looking for a way to put your values into action this summer? Or do you want to step out of your comfort zone a little, and learn something new? Spend a morning with us pulling invasive weeds from the prairies at Bluffs Nature Area, and you can be confident that your effort will directly benefit area wildlife – and NAP workday leaders are always eager to help volunteers learn about and identify some of the countless species of animals and plants supported by our collective restoration work. Pre-registration through VolunteerHub is required as space is limited. Please wear long pants, closed-toed shoes, and gardening gloves. All minors should be accompanied by a guardian. Tools and know-how provided. Meeting location will be provided at registration. Register here. (https://tinyurl.com/Bluffs073121)
For more information about what each of these events may require, please read more about volunteering with NAP
here.
