This holiday season, many of you set out to find the big red holiday bows hanging on trees in 16 of our nature preserves. You travelled across West Michigan with your friends, family and pets and discovered gorgeous natural places—some for the first time! A hearty thanks to everyone who participated in our Holiday Hike Challenge! Today we
Join us in taking a look back on a year that was truly unlike any other!
This year has certainly been a tough one. The challenges we have endured, and continue to endure, have shown us our capacity for resilience. That is why we chose this concept as the theme for our newsletter this fall. In this issue, a volunteer shares how
Happy Halloween! It’s that special time of year when we spend unusual amounts of time thinking about ghosts, goblins, skeletons, spiders, and creepy things in general. We here at the Land Conservancy are no exception: Lately I’ve been thinking about parasites. What’s a parasite, exactly? In short, it’s a creature that lives on or in another organism, on which it feeds. Lampreys, leeches,
LCWM Executive Director Joe Engel will retire in February 2021.
Peggy Falk is a Land Conservancy of West Michigan volunteer and supporter and a member of the Michigan Bluebird Society. She spearheaded a project to install bluebird boxes at The Highlands last fall and monitored them throughout the year.
Norm Ferguson has been a volunteer with the Land Conservancy of West Michigan since 2015. He first heard about the organization on NPR and got hooked on the regular Second Saturday Workdays. “Justin usually gives a rundown of what Michigan used to be like. It’s fun learning about that stuff, but I also
Enchanted with a rare Lake Michigan lakeshore forest community, Douglas and Gretchen Paprocki devoted themselves to ensuring its permanent preservation. In 1986, Douglas Paprocki and his late wife Gretchen purchased a cottage on the Lake Michigan lakeshore. Much like today, it was at a time when water levels had reached historic
By Alexandra Sixt It’s summer, which means pool days, backyard barbecues, and . . . bugs! Yes, right around this time of the year, millions of bugs can be seen flying about, typically near flowers, and enjoying the warm summer sun. You may cringe at the
Volunteer Preserve Stewards Jill Henemyer and Dotti Clune share their experience caring for Flower Creek Dunes Nature Preserve and why they value this rich landscape. It doesn’t take much time at Flower Creek Dunes Nature Preserve to realize that it’s a very special place. Dotti Clune and Jill Henemyer, who have volunteered