Archived News Release: September 13, 2024 - City of Ann Arbor Natural Area Preservation (NAP) works to protect and restore Ann Arbor's natural areas and to foster an environmental ethic within the community. This involves conducting plant and animal inventories, ecological monitoring and stewardship projects in Ann Arbor's parks. These tasks are performed by both staff and volunteers. NAP also offers environmental education and enrichment activities for K-5 students, seniors, and the general public. NAP is sharing events planned for October 2024.
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.
Stewardship Workday
Brokaw Nature Area
Saturday, Oct. 5
9 a.m.-noon
Volunteer alongside NAP staff to continue restoration efforts and remove invasive species at a beautiful park. Three types of plant communities were identified here, wet mesic forest, mesic forest and an old field. Due to the variety of habitats it provides, Brokaw Nature Area has a great diversity of plant life. Being a relatively new park, the area is still in the early stages of active land management, and your help will make a big difference!
Meet at the parking lot off West Huron River Drive, just southeast of Wagner Road. 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
Bluffs Nature Area
Saturday, Oct. 5
1-4 p.m.
Get some facetime with nature and contribute to an environmental cause. It's as easy as showing up and grabbing a hand tool from NAP! Staff will guide participants in cutting invasive shrubs to help maintain the diverse habitats of Bluffs Nature Area. Enjoy oak-hickory forest and open meadows — this 40-acre park is a vital natural corridor for wildlife.
Meet at the park entrance on Orkney 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 for World Habitat Day
Miller Nature Area
Sunday, Oct. 6
9 a.m.-noon
Cut down invasive shrubs with the knowledgeable NAP staff — it's not terribly hard, and even kids can participate! You've probably traveled passed Miller Nature Area while driving on the west side of Ann Arbor. Logging, farming, gravel extraction and dumping are some of the historical activities that volunteers have the power to help remedy in celebration of World Habitat Day. Healthy habitat means biodiversity and in turn, a healthy local ecosystem.
Meet at the Arborview Boulevard entrance, just east of Wildwood Avenue. 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 for World Habitat Day
Kuebler Nature Area
Sunday, Oct. 6
1-4 p.m.
NAP is calling all caring and curious members of the community! Use simple hand tools alongside staff to cut down shrubs. Kuebler Langford Nature Area is an ecologically rich park and holds diverse plant and animal life. Distinctive, glacially-formed ridges and lush ravines provide unique habitats Celebrate World Habitat Day while contributing to the health of this Ann Arbor treasure!
Meet at the park entrance on Beechwood Drive, north of Sunset Road. 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 for World Migratory Bird Day
Mary Beth Doyle Park
Sunday, Oct. 13
9 a.m.-noon
NAP notes you don't have to know a single thing about birds to enjoy them and that just their beautiful songs or graceful flight can brighten a dreary day. Birds — in particular migrating birds — depend on the diverse habitat at Mary Beth Doyle Park, and you can help keep it that way. Removing invasive shrubs with NAP staff is straightforward and fun! World Migratory Bird Day is the perfect time to show your appreciation for our feathered friends who bring everyone joy.
Meet at the parking lot at the end of Birch Hollow/Chelsea Circle (additional parking on Chelsea). 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
Leslie Woods Nature Area
Saturday, Oct. 19
9 a.m.–noon
Get outside, shed the tension of the week, and give back to the local ecology! All you have to do is show up to the historically intact woodland at Leslie Woods Nature Area for a stewardship workday, where you will help tackle invasive shrubs. (You don't actually have to tackle anything!) NAP staff will guide volunteers in identifying and cutting down shrubs and share knowledge about the beautiful landscape. (Again, no tackling involved!)
Meet at Willowtree Apartment tennis courts. 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
Black Pond Woods Nature Area
Saturday, Oct. 19
1-4 p.m.
Experience the ecological mystery of Black Pond at this stewardship workday! Not really, the mystery is tannins. Don't know what tannins are? You'll find out while removing invasive shrubs at Black Pond Woods Nature Area! Cutting shrubs with hand tools is a straightforward activity and NAP staff will have your back the whole time. The pond and its surrounding habitats contribute to the high biodiversity in this park, and you can help keep it that way.
Meet at the park entrance on Tibbits Court, off Pontiac Trail. 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
Furstenberg Nature Area
Sunday, Oct. 20
1-4 p.m.
NAP asks, “Do you have a special amphibian in your life? Have you been yearning to befriend a turtle? Maybe you've imagined that a majestic swan would bring you fulfillment?" NAP won't help you become a Disney princess, but NAP can offer time spent in nature improving the lives of local wildlife along the Huron River. Attend this stewardship workday at Furstenberg Nature Area and learn how to cut and remove invasive shrubs — it's simple and rewarding work!
Meet at the parking lot off Fuller Road. 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
Scarlett Mitchell Nature Area
Friday, Oct. 25
1-4 p.m.
It's a Friday afternoon volunteer opportunity! Straightforward work, outdoors, with friendly folks—it's just what you didn't know you were hoping for this week. The wetlands and woodlands at Scarlett Mitchell Nature Area are quality habitat for native flora and fauna, where volunteer efforts have a direct impact. But wait, there's more! Natural Area Preservation (NAP) staff will be standing by to help identify invasive shrubs and how to remove them. Register now for a weekday afternoon of rewarding work supporting native habitat!
Meet at the park entrance off Turnberry Lane (look for the City of Ann Arbor truck). 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
Braun Nature Area
Sunday, Oct. 27
9 a.m.-noon
Escape into one of Ann Arbor's unique urban green spaces and give back to nature! Stretch your limbs and enrich your knowledge while helping remove invasive shrubs to support the local ecosystem. The friendly staff of NAP will show participants which shrubs to cut, how to do it effectively and safely and how this work will impact the plants and animals nearby as well as the watershed shared by our greater community.
Meet at the park entrance on Chalmers 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
Mary Beth Doyle Park
Sunday, Oct. 27
1 to 4 p.m.
NAP says, “Make way for ducklings! Make way for goslings! Give a flap up to some flappers and some pipers and some peeps! Those little squawkers and those squeakers need your help, yes it's true, just like the eaglets and the eyas need help from someone just like you. It doesn't matter if you've never seen an owlet or never heard a squab, it will help them all the same if you just show up and do the job. You can stop invasive shrubs from junking up their place. It's easy! And it's fun! And you can work at your own pace."
Meet at the parking lot at the end of Birch Hollow/Chelsea Circle (additional parking on Chelsea). 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).
Park millage renewal on Nov. 5 General Election ballot
The 2025–2044 Park Maintenance and Capital Improvements Millage renewal proposal is set to appear on the Nov. 5 General Election ballot, asking Ann Arbor voters to decide whether to continue supporting the Ann Arbor park system. If passed, the renewed millage would continue funding park system enhancements, repairs, NAP programs and restoration for the next 20 years. The millage renewal proposal remains for 1.10 mills and does not pose an increase; the rate would remain the same as the millage that is expiring this year. Visit parks online for answers to frequently asked questions, to learn about projects and activities funded through the current and past millages and much more. Additional questions — or interest in scheduling a parks and recreation informational presentation for your neighborhood or community organization this summer or fall — can be directed to [email protected].
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