NAP Newsletter Winter 2013

Natural Area Preservation News

Greenview, which includes meadows, woodlands, a pond, and a community garden, has a complicated history. It is part of a larger property, which stretches from Main Street to Greenview Drive, an area which was once a nine-hole golf course. This piece of land includes Greenview Park, Pioneer Woods, Pioneer Prairie, as well as Pioneer High School. There are no property boundaries between these entities. In 1953, the land was acquired by the University of Michigan to build Pioneer High School, and soon the question of land management arose. The City became involved when they agreed to mow Greenview biweekly. Today Greenview is mown only once a year in order to promote species diversity. 

Friends of Greenview is a 501c3 organization that predates NAP, and as fiercely dedicated volunteers they are the driving force behind countless improvements at Greenview. Once NAP was established, the two organizations were able to work together to combat invasives with new techniques. For instance, prescribed fire is now used to control invasive shrubs in the oak-hickory forest of Greenview Park and Pioneer Prairie, and NAP hosts two yearly public workdays (spring and fall) for controlling invasives. 

The biggest challenges facing Friends of Greenview are the large swaths of buckthorn present. Rogers has taken on this challenge, evidenced by giant piles of dead buckthorn waiting to be chipped. Taking out large patches of fruit-bearing shrubs does remove habitat for some migratory birds. But not to worry, Friends of Greenview has received grants from DTE Energy and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to remediate those areas with native plants. Among these, dogwood (Cornus spp.) and crabapple (Malus spp.) are the most ecologically important for migratory songbirds. 

In addition to controlling invasives and planting natives, Friends of Greenview has plans to increase the herpetological diversity of the pond, as well. They are working with a herpetologist, to reintroduce Northern Leopard Frogs into the Greenview pond. Depending on the weather and hydrologic conditions of the pond, egg masses will be introduced in the spring of 2014.

Coordinator's Corner: Happy Birthday to NAP!​

You may have noticed from the past few issues of the NAP newsletter, that NAP just celebrated its 20-year anniversary, or was it a 20-year birthday? As I pondered this question during the 2013 festivities, I realized that it’s an important issue to resolve.

In my experience, and without any additional research into the matter whatsoever, it seems that anniversaries are often accompanied by sentiments such as, “Congratulations.” “You’ve made it!” and “Wow, has it really been that long …” The focus seems to be on the past, looking back on where you’ve come from, celebrating past accomplishments.

Birthdays, on the other hand, have none of that, especially not at NAP’s exciting age of 20 years old! These are the years of new opportunities. We earn the right to start driving around the age of 16. At 18 we’re considered legal adults and enjoy many of the rights, and responsibilities of that new age, although we don’t earn the privilege of drinking alcohol until we turn 21. Birthdays are forward-looking. They mark the arrival of a new era. We expect our lives to change as we hit those milestone ages. And people expect more of us from that point onward.

In that sense, I hope that what we’ve just celebrated is NAP’s 20th birthday, rather than its anniversary. It is the start of a new era here at NAP, with new rights and responsibilities to accompany our entry into this third decade of work. People expect more of us now, and they should. We’re “grown up” now. We’re a much broader and more complex organization than we were ten years ago, or even five. And we’re running more programs and workdays, working with many more volunteers, and reaching out into more sectors of the community than we ever did before.

Yes, we have accomplished much together over the past 20 years. There is much to celebrate. But our focus has to be on where we’re headed the next 20 years – that’s where the real excitement lies!

So wish us a Happy Birthday next time you see us. Then come join us as we create the next two decades together!

-David Borneman, NAP Manager 

Volunteers of the Score

Although thousands of people have volunteered with NAP in the past 20 years (a “score”), these volunteers and groups deserve some special recognition!

Just a few ways volunteers of the score have contributed to NAP:
Volunteered an outstanding number of hours in the field, or in the NAP office
Recruited volunteers who worked an extraordinary number of combined hours
Lead volunteers who worked a monumental number of combined hours
Monitored a significant number of hours for salamanders, frogs, turtles, or birds
Effected a remarkable impact on NAP’s restoration and education efforts
Mentored, advised, or inspired NAP’s volunteers and staff

eBird

Have you ever wondered what birds you might see in a particular nature area? Now you can find out online, thanks to NAP Breeding Bird Survey volunteers and Cornell University’s eBird website!  

Since 1995, NAP volunteers have surveyed many of our natural areas. In the spring of 2013, NAP Inventory Specialist Chris McCreedy uploaded NAP’s bird data to Cornell’s eBird system.

From the website: “A real-time, online checklist program, eBird has revolutionized the way that the birding community reports and accesses information about birds. Launched in 2002 by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and National Audubon Society….eBird’s goal is to maximize the utility and accessibility...of bird observations made each year by recreational and professional bird watchers.”

USING eBIRD​
Go to ebird.org​
Select Explore Data 
Select the Hotspot Explorer
Enter a natural area into the    
     Location search bar
Click on the location pin
Select your data!

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