April 3, 2024 - City of Ann Arbor Natural Area Preservation (NAP) works to protect and restore Ann Arbor natural areas and to foster an environmental ethic within the community, with tasks performed by both staff and volunteers. NAP initiatives involve stewardship workdays, conducting plant and animal inventories and ecological monitoring, as well as offering environmental education and enrichment activities for kindergarten–fifth grade students (K–5), seniors and the general public. Each month, year round, NAP hosts community events to help with this effort, and to provide opportunities to learn about and enjoy city natural areas. NAP has many community events planned for May 2024; the list follows.
To attend an event, participants are encouraged to preregister using VolunteerHub at https://cityofannarbor.volunteerhub.com/lp/nap; registration links to each event in VolunteerHub are also provided with each description.
Breeding Bird Survey Kickoff
Thursday, May 2
7-9 p.m.
Learn how to put your birding skills to use and survey for breeding birds in Ann Arbor parks! Volunteer to help NAP with Ann Arbor's Breeding Bird Survey. Learn how NAP uses eBird to record survey results, sign up to survey your favorite park, hear about last year's survey, and access the survey materials. Note that experience in bird identification is necessary, and you must be able to identify birds by sight and sound to participate in this survey. This training will also be recorded. Register through VolunteerHub.
K-5 Forest Fridays
Searching for Salamanders
Friday, May 3
4:30-6 p.m.
Bird Hills Nature Area
Learn about native salamanders, what they're up to in spring, and then go for a 1-mile hike to try to find some! Meet at the Newport Road parking lot entrance, just north of M-14. This event is for K-5 students accompanied by an adult. Please dress to be prepared for weather. Wear boots, as it will probably be muddy. Preregistration through VolunteerHub is required. NAP uses VolunteerHub to manage participant waivers — please create individual accounts for each child. (Adults can use their own email address for child accounts). Feel free to call NAP for assistance, 734.794.6627.
Stewardship Workday
Sunset Brooks Nature Area
Sunday, May 5
9 a.m.-noon
Wildflower growth is picking up speed this time of year at parks like Sunset Brooks. This means a lovely morning for volunteers in this 8-acre, oak-hickory woodland (with a prairie to boot)! Pulling invasive weeds with NAP will be easy and rewarding and have lasting effects for the local ecosystem. Meet at the park entrance on Sunset Road, at the end of Brooks Street. Volunteers will pull invasive weeds from the ground by hand. Workday sites have unpaved trails and require going off trail. Preregister through VolunteerHub so NAP can plan on enough staff and supplies for a safe and successful event. For your safety, wear long pants, tall socks and closed-toe shoes. All minors should be accompanied by a guardian. More information: How to prepare for a NAP workday (PDF).
Stewardship Workday
Miller Nature Area
Sunday, May 5
1-4 p.m.
If you've been a fan of Miller Park for even a few years, you'll know how much work is done there year after year to improve the health and habitat. And if you're really paying attention, you'll know the friendly faces of the park stewards who are performing these feats of conservation. Lend a hand to these fierce defenders of Miller Park's nature and help remove invasive weeds. Meet at the Arborview Boulevard entrance, just east of Wildwood Avenue. Volunteers will pull invasive weeds from the ground by hand. Workday sites have unpaved trails and require going off trail. Preregister through VolunteerHub so NAP can plan on enough staff and supplies for a safe and successful event. For your safety, wear long pants, tall socks and closed-toe shoes. All minors should be accompanied by a guardian. More information: How to prepare for a NAP workday (PDF).
Stewardship Workday
World Migratory Bird Day
Marshall Nature Area
Saturday, May 11
9 a.m.-noon
This Migratory Bird Day, let's give bugs a chance! Migratory birds depend on insects for energy during the breeding season and on their long journeys. Natural areas that migratory birds have depended on for mid-journey food are being transformed into agriculture, housing developments, and even parking lots. Give migratory birds a chance to complete their cross-continent expedition by supporting insect habitat. Meet at the parking lot off Dixboro Road. (additional parking on Church Street, across Dixboro). Volunteers will pull invasive weeds from the ground by hand. Workday sites have unpaved trails and require going off trail. Preregister through VolunteerHub so NAP can plan on enough staff and supplies for a safe and successful event. For your safety, wear long pants, tall socks and closed-toe shoes. All minors should be accompanied by a guardian. More information: How to prepare for a NAP workday (PDF).
Stewardship Workday
World Migratory Bird Day
Huron Parkway Nature Area
Saturday, May 11
1-4 p.m.
Why highlight the connection between birds and insects on Migratory Bird Day? If you're a bird, you're thinking, “I eat them to stay alive and give me energy to migrate across the world!" If you're a farmer, land manager, homeowner or backpacker, you're thinking, “I need birds to help control insect pests!" And if you're an insect, well, thank you for your service — we literally could not survive without you. If you're a volunteer, come celebrate birds and bugs by pulling invasive weeds for a Saturday afternoon! Meet at the park steward's house — 3470 Woodland Road, off East Huron River Drive. Volunteers will pull invasive weeds from the ground by hand. Workday sites have unpaved trails and require going off trail. Preregister through VolunteerHub so NAP can plan on enough staff and supplies for a safe and successful event. For your safety, wear long pants, tall socks and closed-toe shoes. All minors should be accompanied by a guardian. More information: How to prepare for a NAP workday (PDF).
Stewardship Workday
Molin Nature Area
Sunday, May 12
9 a.m.-noon
“Springtime. As the view from the window is getting greener and greener, my heart is getting stronger and stronger." Let this lyric from Yoko Ono bring you out to strengthen your heart through conservation. A spring morning at Molin Nature Area with NAP offers fresh air, greening nature and rewarding work supporting natural habitat. Meet at the corner of Powell Road and Columbia Avenue. Volunteers will pull invasive weeds from the ground by hand. Workday sites have unpaved trails and require going off trail. Preregister through VolunteerHub so NAP can plan on enough staff and supplies for a safe and successful event. For your safety, wear long pants, tall socks and closed-toe shoes. All minors should be accompanied by a guardian. More information: How to prepare for a NAP workday (PDF).
Stewardship Workday
Berkshire Creek Nature Area
Sunday, May 12
1-4 p.m.
This nature area does a lot for the health of the Malletts Creekshed and the Huron River Watershed. The rocks and native plants that makeup the natural shoreline along the creek help control stormwater runoff. Stormwater runoff is a big deal — pollution, flooding and sediments are all threats to clean water for humans and wildlife alike. Help keep the watershed flowing by making space and freeing up nutrients for native plants. Meet at Exmoor Road, just past Stonehaven Sreet. Volunteers will pull invasive weeds from the ground by hand. Workday sites have unpaved trails and require going off trail. Preregister through VolunteerHub so NAP can plan on enough staff and supplies for a safe and successful event. For your safety, wear long pants, tall socks and closed-toe shoes. All minors should be accompanied by a guardian. More information: How to prepare for a NAP workday (PDF).
K-5 Nature Crafts
Build a Dragonfly
Wednesday, May 15
3-4:30 p.m.
Island Park Shelter A
Learn about Michigan dragonflies and damselflies! Take a hike to find them in the park, then use natural materials to build your own! Remember to wear your closed-toe shoes and long pants! Meet at Island Park Shelter A, the first shelter you'll see when arriving at the park. This event is for K-5 students accompanied by an adult. Please dress to be prepared for all weather. Preregistration through VolunteerHub is required. NAP uses VolunteerHub to manage participant waivers — please create individual accounts for each child. (Adults can use their own email address for child accounts). Feel free to call NAP for assistance, 734.794.6627.
Stewardship Workday
Endangered Species Day
Narrow Gauge Way
Saturday, May 18
9 a.m.-noon
If you're ready to “walk the walk" and directly help endangered species, come out for a morning of habitat conservation at Narrow Gauge Way! Exotic plants can take space and nutrients from the native plants our wildlife depend on for food, shelter and breeding. Join other volunteers and NAP staff for Endangered Species Day to remove invasive weeds. Meet at the corner of Narrow Gauge Way and Watershed Drive. Volunteers will pull invasive weeds from the ground by hand. Workday sites have unpaved trails and require going off trail. Preregister through VolunteerHub so NAP can plan on enough staff and supplies for a safe and successful event. For your safety, wear long pants, tall socks and closed-toe shoes. All minors should be accompanied by a guardian. More information: How to prepare for a NAP workday (PDF).
Stewardship Workday
Endangered Species Day
Ruthven Nature Area
Saturday, May 18
1-4 p.m.
The Michigan DNR points out, “many threatened and endangered species rely on high-quality natural areas that benefit all of us by providing clean water, clean air and places for us to enjoy nature. When species are struggling, it can indicate declines in the functioning of those natural areas, which in turn can impact our quality of life." Join NAP for Endangered Species Day to protect natural habitat! Meet at the park entrance off Huron Parkway. If driving: park at the Gallup boat dock parking lot, then follow the park path and use the crosswalk to get to the Ruthven Huron Parkway entrance (look for the NAP truck). Volunteers will pull invasive weeds from the ground by hand. Workday sites have unpaved trails and require going off trail. Preregister through VolunteerHub so NAP can plan on enough staff and supplies for a safe and successful event. For your safety, wear long pants, tall socks and closed-toe shoes. All minors should be accompanied by a guardian. More information: How to prepare for a NAP workday (PDF).
Stewardship Workday
International Day for Biological Diversity
Black Pond Woods
Sunday, May 19
9 a.m.-noon
Celebrate and protect Black Pond Woods for the UN International Day for Biodiversity! As the UN explains, “When human activities produce greenhouse gases, around half of the emissions remain in the atmosphere, while the other half is absorbed by the land and ocean. These ecosystems — and the biodiversity they contain — are natural carbon sinks, providing so-called nature-based solutions to climate change." Meet at the park entrance on Tibbits Court, off Pontiac Trail. Volunteers will pull invasive weeds from the ground by hand. Workday sites have unpaved trails and require going off trail. Preregister through VolunteerHub so NAP can plan on enough staff and supplies for a safe and successful event. For your safety, wear long pants, tall socks and closed-toe shoes. All minors should be accompanied by a guardian. More information: How to prepare for a NAP workday (PDF).
Weekday Stewardship Workday
Bird Hills Nature Area
Friday, May 31
1-4 p.m.
Weekday conservationists, here's another Friday afternoon of removing invasive plants for you! Bring a friend or neighbor and close out the week (and the month!) with NAP among the beautiful, blooming slopes at Bird Hills. You're sure to spy some lovely wildflowers (and make more space for them) while pulling bittercress and dame's rocket. Meet at the Newport Road parking lot entrance, just north of M-14. Volunteers will pull invasive weeds from the ground by hand. Workday sites have unpaved trails and require going off trail. Preregister through VolunteerHub so NAP can plan on enough staff and supplies for a safe and successful event. For your safety, wear long pants, tall socks and closed-toe shoes. All minors should be accompanied by a guardian. More information: How to prepare for a NAP workday (PDF).
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