Posts by Kristina Kennedy
MUCC Welcomes New Huron Pines AmeriCorps Service Member
Hello! I’m Tyler Lancaster, a Huron Pines AmeriCorps service member now serving at Michigan United Conservation Clubs (MUCC) as the Engagement Specialist. I grew up in the suburbs of Flint, Michigan. My appreciation for the outdoors happened early in my life when my parents signed me up for the Cub Scouts during elementary school. Through…
Read MoreOn the Ground Kicks-Off the New Year at Gourdneck State Game Area
On Saturday, January 7, 2023, MUCC’s On the Ground (OTG) program partnered with Portage Parks and Recreation and the Michigan DNR to host a volunteer stewardship day at Gourdneck State Game Area (SGA) in Kalamazoo County. We had an impressive volunteer turn-out with over 30 people in attendance! It was a great way to kick-off…
Read MoreVolunteer with On the Ground in Kalamazoo County this Weekend
On Saturday, January 7, 2023, OTG will be co-hosting a stewardship work day with MDNR and the City of Portage Parks and Recreation Department at Gourdneck State Game Area in Kalamazoo County. Volunteers are needed on Saturday, January 7 from 10am-2pm. We’ll be removing invasive woody vegetation in an effort to help restore a unique…
Read MoreOTG to Partner with MDNR and the City of Portage for Volunteer Habitat Stewardship Day this January
Join the Michigan DNR in partnership with the City of Portage Parks & Recreation and MUCC’s OTG program in helping to remove invasive glossy buckthorn from Gourdneck State Game Area. Lunch will be provided for this activity. Bring your work gloves and enthusiasm and be ready to work outside for a minimum of three hours.…
Read MoreOn the Ground: Volunteers Improve Critical Reptile Habitat in Barry County with Pierce Cedar Creek Institute
On Saturday, October 29, 2022, 22 volunteers joined MUCC’s OTG program and Pierce Cedar Creek Institute (PCCI) in removing invasive woody vegetation from critical reptile habitat in Barry County. Volunteers gathered at PCCI’s Research Lab building in Hastings on the foggy and frosty fall morning. After signing-in, they got an introduction to their work site…
Read MoreOn the Ground: Volunteers Planted 100 Mast-Producing Trees in Kalkaska County
On Saturday, October 22, 2022, we continued our partnership with Gib King of Land Ethic, LCC to once again host volunteers at a mast-producing tree planting and brush pile building event in the Traverse City Forest Management Unit (Kalkaska County). In total, 17 volunteers planted one-hundred 5-6 foot trees including various crabapple, hawthorn, and serviceberry…
Read MoreVolunteer with OTG at Pierce Cedar Creek Institute this Month
Join MUCC’s On the Ground (OTG) program in partnership with Pierce Cedar Creek Institute in removing invasive woody vegetation that is encroaching on rattlesnake and box turtle summer breeding and nesting habitat in Hastings. The project unit is about 1.5 acres of oak woodland where invasive autumn olive is encroaching on rattlesnake and box turtle…
Read MoreOn the Ground: A Year in Review
During the 2021-2022 fiscal year, On the Ground volunteers showed up to improve wildlife habitat and recreational access on Michigan’s public lands. Through 22 OTG projects, 546 volunteers spent more than 1,515 hours improving 255 acres of wildlife habitat throughout the state! In 2022, grade schools participated in 6 habitat improvement projects, making students a…
Read MoreOn the Ground: Students from Reese High School Improve Habitat In and Around the Cass River
On Wednesday, September 21, 2022, juniors and seniors from Reese High School joined MUCC’s On the Ground (OTG) program in cleaning-up public access sites along the Cass River in Vassar Township. Conservation students picked-up multiple bags of litter and removed large items of trash from the Cass River and surrounding access sites including tires, vehicle…
Read MoreOn the Ground: Year-to-Date Impacts and What’s to Come
With only about one week left until autumn, MUCC’s On the Ground (OTG) program is prepping for it’s short but sweet fall field season. This October, we’ll be planting mast-producing trees in Kalkaska County and then putting our rubber boots to the ground at Pierce cedar Creek Institute in Hastings to remove invasive woody vegetation…
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