On the Ground Jr. Brush hour! Reese Middle School Volunteers Remove Invasives and Build Brush Piles

On Wednesday, May 10, 32 students and faculty from the Reese Middle School Out-of-Doors Club participated in MUCC’s OTG Jr. program. Students cleared invasive vegetation from Denmark Township State Game Area and built brush piles as part of a grassland improvement project. This grassland is home to various wildlife from ring-necked pheasants and wild turkeys to songbirds and pollinators. The area is inaccessible by machinery so management requires a more hands-on approach. Volunteers used hand saws and loppers to cut down shrubs and used them to create brush piles. MUCC staff members also treated the stumps with herbicide to prevent any shrub regeneration. In just three hours of habitat work, volunteers constructed 5 large brush piles, helping restore and improve 7 acres of habitat on public land.

There are multiple opportunities to get involved with MUCC’s On The Ground program this spring. Our next open event is on Saturday, June 10 in Luce County. Volunteers will help plant mast-producing trees in the Newberry Forest

Management Unit. If you’re interested in viewing our upcoming events, please click HERE for more information.