On the Ground Jr: Murphy Elementary at Rose Lake SGA
On Wednesday, May 30th and Thursday, May 31st, 100 students from Murphy Elementary in the Haslett public schools built brush piles and pulled garlic mustard in the Rose Lake State Game Area to improve wildlife habitat. The students then enjoyed an afternoon of activities including mammal pelt ID, duck decoy ID and archery at the Rose Lake Shooting Range. This project was coordinated with the areas DNR Wildlife Biologist Chad Fedewa, Wildlife Technician Chad Krumnauer, and Zsa Mahon and her 5th-grade classes with our On the Ground Jr program. This week’s OTG Jr events cap our spring season off with 5 completed events!
Zsa Mahon’s 5th-grade class and Sarah Lerch’s 5th-grade class spent the day with us on Wednesday building brush piles for rabbitat in the Rose Lake SGA. The group endured the heat in 86 degrees and had a great time rolling large logs to build a base for the pile, then teaming up to carry smaller logs and branches to build the middle and top of the large pile. Kids encountered several spiders in the field, a few garter snakes, a fawn, but no ticks, thankfully! After taking a well-earned lunch break with pizza from Tommy’s Pizza & Subs, the group split up for three different activities to rotate through during the remainder of the afternoon.
Kevin Hatch’s 5th-grade class and Gina Rios’ 5th-Grade class spent Thursday with us pulling invasive garlic mustard and dames rocket from sites located near the shooting range. The group removed enough invasive plants to fill over 25 large garbage bags! The group then got to enjoy their afternoon filled with activities that included mammal identification, duck decoy identification, and archery at the range! Thank you to MUCC’s Education Director Shaun McKeon, all of the teachers, chaperones, and DNR Staff for making these events with the OTG Jr program successful! Take a look below to see what other events OTG Jr has accomplished this year:
April 10, 2018 Lapeer State Game Area (OTG Jr)
On Tuesday, April 10th from 9am-2pm a group of over 20 home-school students from Genesee County improved wildlife conditions in the Lapeer State Game Area by cleaning up two large dump sites along Byers Rd in the areas Central Unit. The group removed enough trash and debris to fill a 20-yard dumpster!
May 2, 2018 Elmwood Twp Mini-State Game Area (OTG Jr)
On Wednesday, May 2nd from 9am-2pm a total of 17 students with the Reese Out of Doors Club completed a wildlife habitat program for the fourth year in a row with OTG Jr. The group planted 600 shrubs along a roadway in the Elmowwod Twp Mini SGA to provide cover for pheasants in the area. The 600 dogwood and highbush cranberry trees were generously donated by Cold Stream Farms to make this project possible!
May 15, 2018 Tobico Marsh/Bay City State Rec Area (OTG Jr)
On Tuesday, May 15th from 9am-3pm, a total 0f 25 students from the Cramer Jr High Service Club pulled garlic mustard and removed invasives including glossy buckthorn, autumn olive, and more in the Tobico Marsh area. This group removed over 30 bags of garlic mustard and other invasives from the area last year! The students enjoyed an afternoon of fishing after the habitat work was completed.
May 30 & 31, 2018 Rose Lake State Game Area (OTG Jr)
On Wednesday, May 30th and Thursday, May 31st, student built brush piles and pulled over 25 large trash bags worth of garlic mustard and dames rocket with 100 students from Murphy Elementary in the Haslett public schools. This project was coordinated with Zsa Mahon, Sarah Lerch, Kevin Hatch, Gina Rios and their 5th-grade classes with our On the Ground Jr program!
