An enchanting experience: Collecting seeds in the prairie
Whether they are collecting and planting seeds, pulling invasive shrubs, or taking a friend on a walk through one of our preserves, the Land Conservancy continues to feel the positive impact of our volunteers at each Second Saturday and every day in between.
This year, we invite you to plant the seeds of lasting change and give to the Land Conservancy of West Michigan. Your contribution will help us support the permanent protection and care of our community’s natural land. Together, we can make an impact and protect nature for generations to come. Thank you for your support.
By Stephanie Gerling, LCWM Volunteer
Since the early 2000s, the Land Conservancy has been working to transform an old European-grass pasture into more than 30 acres of native grasses and wildflowers. Over 200 volunteers have collected hundreds of thousands of seeds from local preserves to spread throughout the prairie at Saul Lake Bog Nature Preserve. This long-running restoration project is one of the largest in the state, and it wouldn’t be nearly as successful without our volunteers.
Charles and Elena Kroll, Brianne Kerr, and Sara Rose are just a few of the volunteers who have made a lasting impact at Saul Lake Bog.
Charles discovered the Land Conservancy of West Michigan through his accounting work back in 2021. He had an opportunity to accompany his boss to a meeting with Kim Karn and Justin Heslinga, Executive Director and Conservation Director of the Land Conservancy, respectively. Inspired by their conversation, Charles looked into LCWM a bit more and discovered the Second Saturday volunteer events. Charles and his wife, Elena, go to nearly every Second Saturday event and one of their favorite spots is Saul Lake Bog.
Their drive from Byron Center to Saul Lake Bog takes about 45 minutes, but Charles says the peaceful, serene landscape that greets them is worth the trek. The Krolls participated in both the fall seed collecting days at Saul Lake Bog, and they make sure they’re there–rain, shine, or snow.
“Every handful of seeds we collect amounts to something,” said Charles, “Going back year after year, we’re able to see the plots we’ve reseeded back in 2021 and 2022. We’re seeing what comes up and the impact that we’ve had. We can see how nature can recover. It’s fulfilling.”
Brianne Kerr started volunteering with the Land Conservancy last year and has since attended seven Second Saturday events, including the seed collecting and planting at Saul Lake Bog.
“The first event I ever did with the Land Conservancy was seed collecting last November, and I loved it,” said Brianne.
Brianne’s first seed collecting assignment was to pick bee balm, a bright flowering perennial that is often visited by hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies during the summer months. This year’s seed mix contained 40 different species of local-genome seeds, including the bee balm Brianne helped collect.
“I knew nothing about the plants out there at Saul Lake Bog. They handed me a bucket and said: This is what you’re getting.” said Brianne, “I got swept up in it! I remember that I was so focused on picking the seeds that I didn’t even hear when they called for everyone to come back.”
“It was cool to come back to the prairie on Black Friday last year. I’m not going shopping, I’m going to plant seeds at Saul Lake Bog.” – Brianne Kerr
Brianne enjoys being outdoors and is grateful for the many opportunities the Land Conservancy has provided him to be outside and learn new skills. Earlier this year, Brianne attended a basket weaving class at Blandford Nature Center where he learned that invasive species can be harvested for weaving materials. One of the invasive species recommended by the instructor was autumn olive, an invasive shrub that Brianne learned to identify and pull at a Second Saturday workday at Wege Foundation Natural Area.
“I’m not normally sawing down trees, but now I can, and I am!” said Brianne, “There’s already a chance on other Saturdays that I would be out walking in the woods at 9 a.m., so why not add a little bit of helping the environment and helping make this area thrive to my weekend?”
Sara Rose also frequents Saul Lake Bog and other LCWM preserves on her weekends. Ten years ago, while feeling stuck in her job, she sought advice from a biology professor at Grand Valley State University who recommended volunteering for a few local organizations to get a feel for the work that’s being done in ecology. One of his suggestions was the Land Conservancy.
“Second Saturdays work with my schedule. As soon as I started attending them, I found it was just a great opportunity to get outside and do what I love doing,” said Sara.
Growing up in rural West Michigan, Sara feels fortunate to be surrounded by nature. She finds the Second Saturday workdays to be particularly enjoyable and the perfect way to be outside and learn something.
“I’ve learned so much about local native plants from the workdays,” said Sara. “I love coming back to the preserves in the summer and seeing the fruits of all of our effort. The prairie at Saul Lake Bog is interesting in each season. Seeing the seeds up close, learning to identify the different plants, coming back in the summer to see everything in bloom. To see the complete life cycle is a really unique experience.”
“Knowing that this has been such a long-term group effort and seeing the prairie expand year after year, seeing new people get involved year after year—this entire experience has been incredibly rewarding.” – Sara Rose
During this year’s Black Friday seed planting, a longstanding tradition with the Land Conservancy, over 40 volunteers braved the 25-degree weather and the first major snowfall of the season to spread two acres of seeds across the Saul Lake Bog prairie. The prairie restoration project is near completion – a 20-year long journey made possible by the work of Charles, Elena, Brianne, Sara, and hundreds of other volunteers.
“This restoration project is really unique,” said Sara, “This is a rare ecosystem and most of the native prairie isn’t around. We don’t have much left. To work on this restoration project means we’re building up to a really beautiful outdoor space for people to enjoy.”
There is still a chance for you to get outdoors and join LCWM volunteers in making an impact before the end of 2024. Head out to The Highlands on December 14th to plant native prairie seeds for our next Second Saturday event. You can also make an end-of-the-year donation and be an integral part of protecting natural land throughout West Michigan.
We hope to see you outside soon!
Joe Engel
Great article, Stephanie. The beauty, passion, and reward of restoration is a gift that keeps on giving, for generations – and volunteers like Sara, Charles, Elena, and Brianne make it all happen. The Second Saturday crews rock!