Huron-Clinton METROPARKS newswww.metroparks.com • Spring 2010 SPRING STORIES EASTER EGG HUNTS MAPLE SUGARING PHOTO CONTEST PLAY & SAVE ON GOLF The Environmental Discovery Center at Indian Springs Metropark sprING’S best bets MAPLE SUGARING PROGRAMS INTERNATIONAL See the Nature Note for programs at MIgratory Bird DAy Hudson Mills, Indian Springs, Metro Beach Metropark Kensington, Oakwoods and May 8 Wolcott Mill Metroparks. live birds of prey, family activities to learn about birds, and bird walks Sheep Shearing Saturday highlight this event. $ © Douglas Schaible & Fiber Fair Wolcott Mill Metropark Farm Center Michigan Recumbent March 20 BicyClE RAlly Watch sheep shearing, and then see Willow Metropark JAYNE MILLer how we use wool as artists weave May 8 and spin it. Wool items will be sold. Test ride an ultra-comfortable new director Make a craft from wool. $ recumbent bike at the pool parking area. www.wolverbents.org, OWL FESTIVAL The Huron-Clinton Metroparks Board of Commission- 734-487-9058 or ers named Jayne Miller to be director of the Huron- Metro Beach Metropark Nature Center [email protected]. April 11 Clinton Metroparks, effective March 1. get wise about owls with live owl Midwest CyCling talks, activities, crafts and guided Group Bike Races Miller, of Ann Arbor, was the community services area walks to search for nesting and Kensington Metropark administrator for the City of Ann Arbor which includes roosting resident owls. $ May 8 Parks and Recreation Services, the Office of Commu- Compete in various-level bike races. Earth DAy CElebration www.midwestcyclinggroup.com $ nity Development, Planning and Development Ser- Indian Springs Metropark vices, and the Open Space and Parkland Preservation Environmental Discovery Center WElcome Home Bird Bash: Program. She brings 22 years experience in various April 17 CElebrating our Returning capacities in parks and recreation with Ann Arbor to Celebrate spring’s return with guided MIgratory Birds discovery hikes, creative nature Lake Erie Metropark the Metroparks. crafts and fun activities! $ Museum and Nature Center May 8 & 9 “The field of parks and recreation is my passion,” said SPRING FESTIVAL Come to one of the top spots for bird- Miller. “I’m thrilled at this opportunity to work for a Kensington Metropark Farm Center ing in Southeast Michigan during this high-quality regional park system that enhances April 24 & 25 National Migratory Bird Day event. Watch sheep shearing and wool quality of life for the people of Southeast Michigan.” spinning, then try candle dipping SRAM STATE HIGH SCHOOL and crafts at the farm. $ CHAMPIONSHIP REGATTA Miller holds a master of arts in Recreation Administra- Kensington Metropark tion from the University of Maryland and a bachelor March of Dimes May 15 WAlK for Babies of arts in Physical Education and Social Science. She Watch high school teams compete for is a certified parks and recreation professional and Hudson Mills, Kensington state titles in crew rowing races. & Metro Beach Metroparks is a member of the National Recreation and Parks April 25 RE-ENACTMENT OF LEWIS CASS Association and the Michigan Recreation and Parks go to www.marchforbabies.com 1820 Expedition Association. or call 1-800-244-9255 for Metro Beach Metropark registration times. $ May 22 Miller replaces James J. Bresciami, who retired in This living history event recreates WIllow Duathalon the historic landing of the lewis Cass August, 2009. Willow Metropark Expedition in 1820 on the shoreline May 1 that is now Metro Beach. Re-enactors Compete in this running/biking event. will portray early settlers of this region www.3disciplines.com $ while demonstrating the crafts What’S new 27th Annual Metro and skills of that era. Grand Spring Tour Heron DAyS Displays at Indian Springs Metropark Environmental Willow Metropark Kensington Metropark Discovery Center: These new displays, pictured on May 2 May 22 & 23 the cover, tell the story of plant and animal life of Pre-registration required for this bicycle Celebrate spring and the return of prairies and wetlands found at the park. event. www.lmb.org/dcc/mgst $ great blue herons with Rosco the Clown, plus native plant Pool at Willow Metropark: Opening this summer, our sales and nature activities. $ new pool with water sprays and a family slide updates the pool complex. Marina at Metro Beach Metropark: Opening this summer, this $3.4 million marina replaces the original, built in 1959. Bathhouse at Kensington Metropark: This new bath- house/food service complex will better serve visitors at Martindale Beach. 2 SPRING stories Great blue heron at Kensington Metropark. © Jim Ridley What do you like best about spring at your Metroparks? Here’s what some of our fans had to say on Facebook: “I love returning in the spring and experiencing Ken- Even though most of our Facebook fans mused about signton Metropark coming back to life, including the Kensington, spring renews the beauty at all 13 Huron- many beautiful memories that are held among the Clinton Metroparks. See how we tap maple trees and trees there. It is and always will be a very special and collect sap to make maple syrup at Hudson Mills, sacred place for me to return to year after year.” Kensington, Indian Springs, Oakwoods or Wolcott Mill – Julie Anne Lowe Metroparks. Bird festivals at Metro Beach, Kensington and Oakwoods offer you the chance to go on a bird “I ran the 8-mile loop at Kensington so many times walk, meet live birds and more. This year marks the one spring that I literally followed a couple of swans 190th anniversary of the lewis Cass Expedition of by watching them incubate their eggs all the way to 1820, during which explorers made a lunch stop at birth. One day, there they were with these little (cyg- what is now Metro Beach Metropark before they con- nets). I felt like a member of their family!” tinued on their journey to the upper great lakes and – Angela Sohn Mississippi region. A special re-enactment on May 22 commemmorates this historical event. I love when the blue herons are nesting at Kensing- ton. They make an incredible amount of noise, lol!” On our golf courses, we’ve improved our game by – Heather Currie Toll initiating a sliding scale of fees, giving golfers oppor- tunities to save and play during our non-peak times. I live to go birding at Kensington, it’s a great “birdy” park that I think a lot of people overlook. Plus I’m one So, come out for a walk, breathe in the air, and take a of the leaders for the three annual bird counts there fresh look at all there is to offer at 13 Huron-Clinton including the spring count.” Metroparks, one of the nation’s best regional park sys- – Pat Baize tems, that was created to serve Southeast Michigan. The redbuds blooming at lower Huron have to be at Then, join the conversation by becoming a fan of the top of the list! But, I’m just a little biased when it Huron-Clinton Metroparks on Facebook. comes to my favorite Metropark!” – Sandra Burns New web site Been to www.metroparks.com lately? If not, then log on to see our newly-designed site. With an all-new look, easier navigation and additional functional- GO fishinG AT YOUR METROPARks! ity, you can check the weather, golf course and trail Fishing camps and programs conditions at specific parks, and much more! coming this summer! 3 FLOODPLAIN forests IT’S CLeaNUP TIme With new signs of life emerging, spring is a great time to get out and enjoy the Metroparks’ natural areas. One of the best places to enjoy early signs of spring is a floodplain forest. These Six Metroparks can use your unique wetlands are found in low-lying areas adjacent to rivers and streams. Floodplain for- help on Earth Appreciation Day, Saturday April 17, during ests are one of the most biologically productive and diverse ecosystems in our area, thanks to their annual cleanups. seasonal floods that deposit nutrients and create unique topography. Most events last a half-day, and a complimentary lunch is Plants that live in floodplain forests are specifically Continuous tracts of floodplain forests once ran along provided to those helpers who adapted to seasonal flooding, and many species actu- the edges of rivers throughout southern Michigan, but register in advance. Entry to all ally depend on natural flooding cycles to survive and today, most of the original floodplain forest habitat Metroparks will be free on this reproduce. The bladdernut shrub releases its seeds in our area has been destroyed or fragmented by “Appreciation Day.” in capsules, which float downriver in the floodwaters. agriculture and development. Alterations to the natural Please register to help at any Sycamore and silver maple, two trees found in flood- flow of rivers have also reduced habitat quality of exist- of these cleanups: plain forests, have roots that can tolerate complete in- ing remnants. Exotic invasive species displace native undation for much of the year. This unique habitat also floodplain forest plants and degrade wildlife habitat. Keep Kensington Clean supports certain threatened and endangered species, However, by preserving natural hydrology, removing Kensington Metropark 9 am – noon several of which are found at the Metroparks. invasive species, and working to re-connect forest frag- ments, we can restore the ecological health of these SHORELINE CLEANUP In spring, floodplain forests are alive with signs of new degraded ecosystems. lake Erie Metropark life. Skunk cabbage, one of the first plants to emerge in 9 am – noon spring, generates its own heat which helps the purple, We need your help to ensure that floodplain forests 20th Annual conical flowers push through snow and frozen ground. and other ecosystems remain healthy for years to Earth Week Cleanup Small, shallow wetlands called vernal ponds remain after come.