Conservation News

Mill Creek Middle school students and volunteers came together to install native plants in May and June 2024. The project created monarch habitat, provided experiential learning, and expanded environmental education at Mill Creek Middle in Dexter.

The Farm at Trinity Health has a Native Demonstration Prairie that is a space for community education about native ecosystems. In this project they expanded these efforts to include more public engagement and native plantings. Multiple establishment methods have been used in the Native Demonstration Prairie. Read this post-install report to learn more.

Ann Arbor STEAM Northside leveraged the School and Community Habitat Grant to develop an incredible project at their school. Utilizing class participation, they applied for and installed a native pollinator garden on school grounds. They were engaged with real problems like erosion, enhanced plant diversity, and put on a showcase of the diverse native plants found in Southeast Michigan.

The EMU Children’s Institute successfully utilized the SCHG to create an interactive Rain Play Garden. Supported by partner Feral Flora, the project mobilized over 40 community volunteers and students to dig and install "mini-raingardens" directly into the nature playground. This hands-on initiative exists as an educational space that inspires environmental curiosity while improving the resilience of the school's landscape.

In 2024 volunteers from the City of Saline applied to install a pollinator garden in Risdon Park. During 2025 they successfully turned a corner of their neighborhood park into a vibrant key-hole style garden.

The School and Community Habitat Grant award announcement for 2025. The SCHG aims restore wildlife habitat at our schools and community spaces, learn more about this year's projects.

Leslie Science and Nature Center is expanding and improving native pollinator gardens at their location to support biodiversity, healthy habitats and visitor education. This one year progress report details some of their lessons learned over time.

Thanks to all of the applicants for the 2024 School and Community Habitat Grant. We had 16 tremendous applications submitted for this year’s program. The evaluation committee selected 6 projects from the following organizations: The Farm at Trinity, Risdon Park in Saline, Mill Creek Middle School, Lyndon Township Hall, Ann Arbor STEAM Northside, EMU Children’s Institute.

The primary goals of this project were to create a visual and physical barrier between the Raptor Loop and Nature Playscape, reducing noise and movement that could stress the resident birds of prey, and to establish a pollinator habitat featuring native plants to support conservation efforts. This garden also serves as an educational tool, enabling visitors to learn about pollinator habitats through observation and programs.