Conservation News

This is the first in a series of articles dedicated to updating the public on the progress of the OSN WMP.

In response to concerns voiced by residents in the 2021 Resource Assessment Survey, specifically land use (zoning and pace of development) and fragmentation of forests, the WCCD developed the Community Trees Pilot Project.

The walnut twig beetle (Pityophthorus juglandis) or WTB, is native to California, the southwestern U.S., and Mexico, where its original hosts were western black walnut trees. However, the WTB is quite happy to be hosted by eastern black walnut (Juglans nigra) and other black walnut hybrids and it’s brought along a very unwelcome guest, a destructive fungus

To enhance habitat and manage runoff at LeFurge Woods, SMLC expanded a rain garden with native plants, aided by volunteers and expertise from MSU Extension and WCCD. Challenges like invasive species, low turnout, and water access were overcome with adaptive strategies. Ongoing maintenance and education aim to ensure the garden thrives as a model for sustainability.

Our primary goals were to expose students to a variety of native trees and fruit trees, provide sheltered areas in an unshaded playground and fields, and create a richer ecological habitat around the school for the well-being and enjoyment of human and non-human species.

The YIES Learning Garden fosters community and reconnects students post-COVID through nature-based learning. Designed with staff input and supported by the PTO and WCCD grant, it was installed with volunteer help in 2021-2022. Summer maintenance is ongoing, and plans include teacher engagement, curriculum integration, and artistic additions to enhance the garden's role as an educational resource.

This potluck-style event encouraged everyone with an interest in native plants to attend whether or not they brought a plant to "pass".

Increasingly more residents and landowners are joining and sustaining this cultural shift to diversify our yards and communities with native plants for the benefit of the birds, and the bees... and really, all life on this shared planet!

​Do you have an invasive tree-of-heaven (Ailanthus altissima) in your yard, farm, or woodlot? Then you have a love match for the invasive spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula). Don’t let this insect’s strikingly pretty appearance fool you!