MBC Fall Board Meeting and Mini-Foray October 5, 2019
The White Pine chapter of the Michigan Botanical Club is pleased to sponsor the MBC Fall Board Meeting and Mini-Foray this year at the Historic Charlton Park, 2530 S Charlton Pk Rd, Hastings, Michigan. The Charlton Park and the Hastings area offer many natural areas to explore from various types of woodlands, lakes, wetlands and prairies.
Bring your own brown-bag lunch or have one from Grand Traverse Pie Company. The GTP lunch options are Ham/ Havarti, Turkey/Cheddar, Chicken Pesto and Mediterranean Veggie which include a sandwich with chips & slice of cherry pie for $10 payable when you get your lunch. Sandwich descriptions can be found at https://gtpie.com/menus/sandwiches/.To order you lunch for GTP, email Jelanie Bush at jelaniebush@gmail.com, use the form on the right, or if you do not have email you can call her at 231-519-6023. If you call, you MUST leave a call back number in order to ensure your order. Orders need to be placed with Jelanie by September 28.
The schedule is as follows:
10:00 am-noon
Fall State Board Meeting in the Upjon Building
—————
Field Trips (open to the public, meet at Charlton Park at 9 am to drive to the locations) - 9:30 -11:30
Dolan Nature Sanctuary, Trip Leader: Cal Lamoreaux
On this two-mile walk, (10350 Baker Ave SE, Alto, MI 49302) we will explore the MNA Sanctuary that is largely comprised of wetlands, floodplain forest, and mature mixed hardwoods. The abandoned agricultural fields are undergoing restoration to an oak barrens or prairie structure. The property has frontage on two designated trout streams, the Coldwater River and Tyler Creek. The sanctuary protects a plant that is common in the south and west, but rare in Michigan, where its northern range ends.
Hidden Pond Preserve Prairie, Trip Leader: Craig Elston
When a visitor first enters SWMLC Hidden Pond Preserve, (4100 Otis Lake Rd, Hastings, MI 49058) they are met by uncluttered views framed by distant tree lines. Following the trail into the property, a shallow stream – packed with marsh marigolds in the spring – glitters invitingly among the cattails and shrubs. Hikers that follow the westward trail through the restored prairie and over the hills are rewarded by a “hidden pond”, a seeming oasis of marsh plants, frog calls, and ducks.
The habitat restoration efforts taking place at Hidden Pond Preserve are a good example of how ‘undeveloping’ a property can provide community and natural benefits. As recently as 2006, this 67-acre property was planted in corn and, prior to that, used as grazing land for dairy cattle. Since acquiring it in 2010, SWMLC has worked to restore the property’s original prairie habitat through prescribed burns, invasive vegetation removal, and seeding the broad slopes with native grasses and forbs. Notably, Henslow’s Sparrows – a species that is endangered in the state of Michigan – have been heard singing in the grassland area.
Efforts are also being made to restore the property’s original hydrology. A plan for restoring the stream to its original stream bed and recreating its former meandering course has been developed. When drainage tiles were removed in the upland area, the perched pond unexpectedly reappeared. What had recently been a cornfield has now become a teeming wetland, miraculously filled with submerged and emergent vegetation and five kinds of frogs and toads. How they arrived is a mystery . . . perhaps a combination of seed bank and duck feet?
—————
Brown Bag Lunch or Lunch From GTP - 12:00-1:00
Bring your own brown-bag lunch or have one from Grand Traverse Pie Company. The GTP lunch options are Ham/Havarti, Turkey/Cheddar, Chicken Pesto and Mediterranean Veggie which include a sandwich with chips & slice of cherry pie for $10 payable when you get your lunch. Sandwich descriptions can be found at https://gtpie.com/menus/sandwiches/. To order you lunch for GTP, email Jelanie Bush at jelaniebush@gmail.com or, if you do not have email you can call her at 231-519-6023. If you call, you MUST leave a call back number in order to insure your order. Orders need to be placed with Jelanie by September 28. See info above.
————-
Field Trips (open to the public) - 1:00-3:00
Charlton Park Trees and Wetland Plants, Trip Leader: Dr. Tony Reznicek
Walk the approximately one-mile loop from the pavilion through swamp and lake/river edge looking for plants and trees found in this moist to wet environment. Swamp White Oak, Lizards Tail, ferns and many more species can be found here.
Paddle The Thornapple, Trip Leader: Craig Elston
Bring you kayak or canoe and paddle as a group along the shoreline area of the Thornapple river/lake looking for water plants. We may have a few extra kayaks available if you don’t have one.
—————
Invasive Species, Presenter: BCK CISMA Coordinator-Fallon Januska - 3:30-4:30
Fallon is the local CISMA coordinator for three counties. In her job with the CISMA, she must identify and treat certain invasive species. She will share with us about invasive species as someone dealing with them on a daily basis
Historic Charlton Park is located at 2545 S. Charlton Park Rd. • Hastings, MI 49058. Board members follow signs to the Upjon House, first road to the right. All other events will stage or take place at the pavilion. To reach the pavilion, turn left at the T-intersection by the entrance booth.