Archived News Release: December 7, 2020 - City of Ann Arbor Natural Area Preservation (NAP) works to protect and restore Ann Arbor's natural areas and to foster an environmental ethic among its community. This involves conducting plant and animal inventories, ecological monitoring and stewardship projects in Ann Arbor's parks. NAP is releasing its schedule for January. These tasks are performed by both staff and volunteers. For more information about NAP, visit www.a2gov.org/NAP.
The City of Ann Arbor and NAP will be monitoring the COVID-19 situation closely and will be following both the governor's orders and recommendations from the Washtenaw County Health Department. As a result, the events scheduled are subject to change in order keep volunteers and the public safe. Should it be prudent to make changes to the event schedule, NAP will provide updates via website at www.a2gov.org/NAPevents and notify anyone who registered for events.
To attend a volunteer workday, participants must preregister using Rec-1at https://secure.rec1.com/MI/city-of-ann-arbor/catalog by noon on the Friday prior to the weekend which it occurs, and wear a mask while maintaining a 6-foot distance from others at all times during the event. Participants should also wear long pants, closed-toed shoes, and leather work gloves. All minors should be accompanied by a guardian. Tools and know-how provided. Links to each event in Rec-1 are provided with each event listing. Meeting location will be provided after registration.
Saturday, Jan. 9, 1–3 p.m.
Fritz Park
Does being indoors during these long winter nights have you on the “Fritz?" Get some refreshing winter air into your lungs while removing invasive shrubs from beautiful Fritz Park! Then, come back in the springtime and search for the lovely woodland phlox or enjoy the nearby playground. Preregistration through Rec1 using this link is required as space is limited. Meeting location will be provided after registration.
Tuesday, Jan. 12, 7:30–8:30 a.m.
Virtual, on Zoom
Stewardship Network's Huron Arbor Cluster welcomes Shawn Duke, senior staff ecologist at Cardno, for its monthly discussion with volunteer and professional land stewards, plus others interested in nature. This month will explore the benefits of naturalizing our shorelines through practices that encourage native vegetation to establish, and how to achieve objectives through sound design and construction practices. For more information, go to www.stewardshipnetwork.org. Join the virtual discussion via Zoom: https://tinyurl.com/SCZoom2021.
Monday, Jan. 18, 1–3 p.m.
Buttonbush Nature Area
Turn your “day off" into a “day on" by joining us to remove invasive shrubs from Buttonbush Nature Area! Although this park has never been developed, disturbances along the edge of the property threaten the health of the ecosystem here. Many hands make light work, and we encourage you to use yours to help protect and restore this local gem. Preregistration through Rec1 is required using this link as space is limited. Meeting location will be provided after registration.
Sunday, Jan. 31, 1–3 p.m.
Foxfire West Nature Area
With the help of Traver Creek, this small park provides an important habitat corridor for wildlife that depend on water, such as muskrat and ducks, and also hosts a variety of wetland wildflowers that support butterflies. Join NAP to protect these important features by removing invasive species. Preregistration through Rec1 is required using this link as space is limited. Meeting location will be provided after registration.
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