Put your Saturday where your mouth is

We often default to giving in the form of a check or a recurring donation (which we love), but there are other, just as important, avenues that a well-rounded conservationist travels.

It’s true that we couldn’t keep the lights on here at Michigan United Conservation Clubs (MUCC) without your generous, repeated giving. Your dollars directly help us protect your rights to hunt, fish and trap, and these dollars often come in the form of unrestricted funding — providing the organization the flexibility to leverage those dollars even further.

We aren’t a one-trick pony, though, and that is repeatedly proven through our continuous bettering of Michigan’s wild spaces, places and things.

MUCC’s On the Ground (OTG) program is your opportunity as a conservationist to walk the walk, give back and “put your Saturday where your mouth is,” as MUCC member Jen Davis said.

Since 2013, OTG projects have included wood duck nest box building and placing, small game habitat improvements, tree planting events, placing fish structures in lakes and many other meaningful, boots-on-the-ground events to get your hands dirty.

Hunters, hippies and hikers can join together to better access for Michiganders and to help make a difference for conservation tomorrow and into the future. OTG is the conduit that can link hunters and anglers with bird watchers and paddlers. Together, the program helps conservationists understand the intrinsic link between all demographics and nature.

OTG is funded through a memorandum of agreement with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Division.

Please consider donating a Saturday to an OTG project near you. For a full list of events, please visit our OTG Events webpage. Email MUCC Wildlife Volunteer Coordinator Kristina Kennedy if you have any more questions.