Volunteer Stewardship Calendar

November 2024

K-5 Forest Fridays: Hibernation Homes
Dolph Nature Area
Friday, Nov. 8
4-5:30 p.m.
Where do Michigan animals go in the winter? Come explore Dolph Nature Area and learn about hibernation, hibernacula, and more at this after school program. If you like building forts, this is the program for you! Meet at the intersection of Parklake Ave and Lakewood Dr on the east side of the park (look for a City of Ann Arbor vehicle).

This event is for K-5 students accompanied by an adult. Please dress to be prepared for all weather. Some trails at this park are unpaved and the group will briefly go off-trail. 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 at 734.794.6627 or email [email protected].    

Stewardship Workday
Stapp Nature Area
Saturday, Nov. 9
9 a.m. to noon

In just one afternoon, you can change the landscape for native pollinators, migrating birds, and all the creatures who depend on the Huron River watershed! Stapp Nature Area is a beautiful place to match a fraction of the enjoyment and peace you receive from nature with a little bit of effort to support native habitat. Cutting invasive shrubs with Natural Area Preservation (NAP) is straightforward and rewarding – and staff will be with you every step of the way to help identify the right shrubs, how to use the tools effectively, and explain the significance of your work.

Meet at the park entrance on Traverwood Dr., south of the library. Volunteers will use hand tools to cut small-to-medium shrubs. 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
Foxfire West Nature Area
Saturday, Nov. 9
1 to 4 p.m.

Wilderness can be found in Ann Arbor! Explore and help restore Foxfire West Nature Area, one of the city's wild, off-trail spaces. Not wild as in uncultivated, feral as in untamed. Jokes aside, it takes a lot of work and expertise to keep urban green spaces in a “natural" state. Natural Area Preservation (NAP) staff know how to keep it wild and want to teach you the easy part - how to identify and remove invasive shrubs – and why your effort is so important.

Meet at the corner of Hickory Point Dr. and Indian Creek Cir. Volunteers will use hand tools to cut small-to-medium shrubs. 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
Sylvan Park
Sunday, Nov. 10
1 to 4 p.m.

Three hours of your weekend, plus five acres of oak-hickory forest, comes out to priceless ecological impact. How do the staff of Natural Area Preservation (NAP) know this? More than thirty years of experience managing Ann Arbor's natural areas with the help of volunteers and the community. So many of the natural spaces in Ann Arbor Parks are beautiful native habitat where flora flourish and fauna frolic. This is because thousands of volunteers come out for three hours at a time, remove invasive shrubs and perform other stewardship activities. Cut shrubs with NAP – you really can see the difference! 

Meet at the north end of Burton Rd. Volunteers will use hand tools to cut small-to-medium shrubs. 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).

Veterans Day Stewardship Workday
Marshall Nature Area
Monday, Nov. 11
1 to 4 p.m.

Head in (…to the forest) on your day off! This Veterans Day at Marshall Nature Area, give some time and effort with Natural Area Preservation (NAP). The staff are enthusiastic about preserving native habitat and look forward to welcoming anyone who wants to take a short hike and cut down some invasive shrubs. The gently rolling terrain winds through woodlands and prairie pockets. It may be a little hilly at Marshall, but those same hills buffer the sights and sounds of the nearby roadways and play an important role in providing the resources needed by the diverse natural communities here.

Meet at the parking lot off Dixboro Rd. (additional parking on Church St, across Dixboro). Volunteers will use hand tools to cut small-to-medium shrubs. 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
Argo Nature Area
Saturday, Nov. 16
9 a.m. to noon

Join other Argonauts in their quest to remove invasive shrubs from Argo Nature Area; when Argo is returned to its natural state, only then can Jason set out for the golden fleece. Myths notwithstanding, where Argo's trails and vistas are adorned with wildflowers—and not obscured by woody thickets—the efforts of volunteers like you are apparent. Come out and make way for more scenic walks and native plants.

Meet on Longshore Dr at Amherst Ave. Volunteers will use hand tools to cut small-to-medium shrubs. 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
Cedar Bend Nature Area
Saturday, Nov. 16
1 to 4 p.m.

You can see the whole city from up here! And the view is only possible because of volunteers like you! When the maple, hickory, dogwood, and black cherry trees (among others) drop their leaves in the fall, the top of Cedar Bend Nature Area gives a breathtaking view of the bend in the Huron River and quite a bit of the central part of town. Invasive shrubs once dominated the understory, shading out shorter native plants and obscuring the view entirely. Volunteers have contributed hundreds of hours (maybe more!) working toward restoring the landscape to the spacious and open park it was meant to be. 

Meet us at the Island Park parking lot, at the end of Island Drive. Volunteers will use hand tools to cut small-to-medium shrubs. 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
Riverwood Nature Area
Sunday, Nov. 17
9 a.m. to noon

The flowering dogwoods at Riverwood need your help to stay healthy and vibrant! For centuries, flowering dogwood trees have been a boon for humans and wildlife alike. They are a larval host for butterflies, and they offer birds and other animals beautiful red fruits (or drupes) for food. The bark has been used as a traditional medicine to treat fevers, and the roots and bark can be harvested to make red dyes. Come remove exotic shrubs from the park and help the dogwoods with Natural Area Preservation.

Meet at the park sign on Riverwood Dr, just west of Newport Rd. Volunteers will use hand tools to cut small-to-medium shrubs. 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
Bird Hills Nature Area
Sunday, Nov. 17
1 to 4 p.m.

Fresh air and giving back can set the stage for a great week. Turn your Sunday Scaries into Monday Mindfulness! Cut down some invasive shrubs with Natural Area Preservation (NAP) to work the tension and anxiety out, and invite the calming effects of nature in. Bird Hills is full of hilly bird habitat (and bat habitat, and insect habitat, and more!) where diverse natural communities contain towering trees and rare wildflower species. Staff will lead you along the unpaved trails and give you all the guidance you'll need to identify and remove the shrubs and offer insight into how your work helps keep Bird Hills thriving. Then go get some good rest and start your week off right!

Meet at the Newport Rd parking lot entrance, just north of M-14. Volunteers will use hand tools to cut small-to-medium shrubs. 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
Sunset Brooks Nature Area
Friday, Nov. 22
1 to 4 p.m.

Time spent in nature, physical activity, and volunteering all release the “happy hormones" that have a measurable effect on our mental health. The stewardship activities at Natural Area Preservation (NAP) workdays are the perfect mix to give you a boost of dopamine, serotonin, and endorphins. The work at this event is ​straightforward and will be led by welcoming staff. The setting of this event—Sunset Brooks Nature Area—has the biodiversity and quality habitat that make it easy to appreciate nature. As if that's not enough, the group of volunteers will also surely be fun and friendly! 

Meet at the park entrance on Sunset Rd, at the end of Brooks St. Volunteers will use hand tools to cut small-to-medium shrubs. 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
Arbor Hills Nature Area
Sunday, Nov. 24
1 to 4 p.m.

Where are all the Fall Fans at this weekend? Outside! Autumnal Afficionados make the best volunteers for nature! Showing support through seasonal stewardship activities makes future falls fabulous. Just a short trip to the north side of Ann Arbor will bring you to the splendid woods and wetlands of Arbor Hills Nature Area. Meet up with Natural Area Preservation (NAP) staff to learn how to easily identify and safely cut down troublesome shrubs, and what kinds of wildlife will be grateful for the help.

Meet at the park entrance at the end of Ashburnam Rd. Volunteers will use hand tools to cut small-to-medium shrubs. 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 Forest Fridays: #OptOutside Fire-Building
Bandemer Park
Friday, Nov. 29
1-2:30 p.m.
#OptOutside this Black Friday and learn how to safely build a fire with local materials. Participants will use the fire circle at Bandemer Park, which is a short hike from the parking lot. Each family group will be able to build their own fire, then everyone will put them all together and enjoy some vegan s'mores! Meet at the north parking lot off at the end of Whitmore Lake Rd (aka Bandemer Disc Golf parking lot).

​This event is for K-5 students accompanied by an adult. Please dress to be prepared for all weather. Some trails at this park are unpaved and the group will briefly go off-trail. 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 at 734.794.6627 or email [email protected].     

December 2024

K-5 Nature Crafts: Build a Bird
Olson Park
Wednesday, December 4
2-3:30pm
Not all Michigan birds migrate away for the winter! On this early release day for AAPS, spend some time finding birds who spend their winters here and learn about how they survive. Use that knowledge to craft your own winter bird using found natural materials! Meet at the Olson Park pavilion off Dhu Varren Rd.

This event is for K-5 students accompanied by an adult. Please dress to be prepared for all weather. Some trails at this park are unpaved and the group will briefly go off-trail. 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 at 734.794.6627 or email [email protected].

Stewardship Workday
World Soil Day
Kuebler Langford Nature Area
Saturday, December 7
9 a.m. to noon
Take time to put aside the rush and stress of this transitional time of year and soak up some nature at Kuebler Langford Nature Area. You'll provide stress-relief to some prairie plants by getting pesky invasive shrubs out of their way. Volunteers with Natural Area Preservation (NAP) have found that nature stewardship can be straightforward and quite effective at bringing a sense of accomplishment and giving back to nature and the community. Cut down some shrubs and cut down on stress!

Meet at the park entrance on Beechwood Dr, north of Sunset Rd. Volunteers will use hand tools to cut small-to-medium shrubs. 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
Oakwoods Nature Area
Sunday, Dec. 8
1 to 4 p.m.
Let's cut down invasive shrubs and help frogs (and toads!) all year. The delightful sounds of spring might be far off, but you have the power to have an impact now. The frogs (some of them spring peepers) and other wetland wildlife need lots of quality habitat to remain healthy and happy—and to serenade us all (and their prospective mates) when warmer months are starting. You don't even have to peep a frog to help a frog![HB1] [n2] 

Meet at the park entrance off Dunwoodie. Volunteers will use hand tools to cut small-to-medium shrubs. 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 Forest Fridays: Tracks on Trails
Scarlett Mitchell Nature Area
Friday, Dec. 13
4-5:30 p.m.
Believe it or not, foot or paw prints (tracks) can tell us a lot about an animal and their behavior. Whether they're left in snow or in mud, tracks are all around! Come hone your tracking skills and learn about what different animals' tracks look like and what you can learn from them. Please wear warm boots! Meet at Scarlett Mitchell Nature Area: exact location TBD!

This event is for K-5 students accompanied by an adult. Please dress to be prepared for all weather. Some trails at this park are unpaved and the group will briefly go off-trail. 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 at 734.794.6627 or email [email protected].

K-5 Forest Fridays: Trees by Touch
Furstenberg Nature Area
Friday, Dec. 27
10-11:30 a.m.
Once the leaves fall, it can be harder to identify our deciduous trees. Engage more senses than just sight to learn how to tell which trees are which in the winter. Learn about bark on different types of trees, do some bark rubbings, and play a fun game! Meet at the parking lot off Fuller Road.

This event is for K-5 students accompanied by an adult. Please dress to be prepared for all weather. Some trails at this park are unpaved and the group will briefly go off-trail. 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 at 734.794.6627 or email [email protected].

K-5 Nature Crafts: Winter Celebration
Burns Park
Monday, Dec. 30
2-3:30 p.m.
Come celebrate winter with NAP by creating your own ornament or craft using natural materials and learn about the plants that stay green over winter in Michigan. While you create, learn about some invasives that you don't want to sneak their way into your seasonal décor! Allergy warning: The homemade ornaments contain cinnamon, and there may be tree nuts present. Meet at the Burns Park shelter on Wells St.
​
This event is for K-5 students accompanied by an adult. Please dress to be prepared for all weather. Some trails at this park are unpaved and the group will briefly go off-trail. 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 at 734.794.6627 or email [email protected].