Thanks to the community of Grand Rapids, this former golf course's future as a natural area was secured in spring 2019. The soft breezes and peaceful trails belie an exciting year of transformation at the Highlands. Completion of the acquisition campaign and a series of groundbreaking
Preserving the dunes, and a dear friend's memory, in perpetuity. When 35-year-old Evelyn Stone passed away in 2018, Jessa Ávalos and her friends wanted to find a way to honor her memory and her love for West Michigan’s dunes. “When our friends think about Evelyn, they think
A couple weeks ago, a post from outdoor retailer REI scrolled across my Instagram feed. The post announced a new focus for this year’s edition of #OptOutside, REI’s increasingly popular push to get people outdoors on Black Friday. This time around, instead of just getting
Over the last three weeks, much has changed at The Highlands. Here’s a quick look at what’s been going on. Demolishing the Clubhouse Where once stood a sprawling building, now sits a pile of rubble. To tear down a building of this size takes a great deal
PRESERVED! Artist Interview Series Eleanor Iorio is this year’s Preserved! Youth Ambassador. She has grown up surrounded by art, and at 17 years old, she has spent much of her life experimenting in different mediums. Her focus is needle-felted fiber landscapes. Iorio learned the art of needle felting
PRESERVED! Artist Interview Series Nature pervades most facets of Cayla Tinney’s life. She is a visual artist and an ecologist inspired by the rhythms, poetry and memory she sees in the landscape. Tinney grew up in Northern Michigan, where she said the “outside” was ever-present. “Nature is very integral
PRESERVED! Artist Interview Series Sally Jenks has carried an appreciation of nature with her from a young age. She grew up in a rural environment where the solace of nature was never too far out of reach. Now, Jenks resides in the middle of Grand Rapids, and
PRESERVED! Artist Interview Series There is magic in the landscape. How it is experienced is individual to the beholder, but everyone can find it. Kathy Mohl is driven to translate the magic she sees through her painting. Mohl has participated in all three editions of the Land Conservancy’s
Starting this week, you will hear a bit more than the sounds of birdsong and a gentle breeze blowing through the tall grasses at The Highlands. Heavy machinery will be at work making progress on two exciting projects: the demolition of the clubhouse and the installation
PRESERVED! Artist Interview Series Teresa O’Brien grew up immersed in art and aesthetic. Her childhood home in St. Louis, Missouri, was filled with paintings done by her grandfather, an architect by profession and a watercolorist by passion. “Creativity was part of what I lived and breathed,” O’Brien said. O’Brien