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In this issue:
Thank you, Claudia!
Upcoming Programs and Partner Events
Pollinator Photo Contest
Tails From the Trail: Catchin' Crayfish
Greenways: A Watershed Moment
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Catchin' Creatures and Catchin' Up! | |
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Thank You, Claudia!
We thank our outgoing EIC Director, Dr. Claudia Walters, for so diligently and effectively leading our Center over the past three years. Her hands-on guidance, determination, and strong technical skills successfully got us through the two-year campus closure, during the Covid pandemic.
As many organizations did, we faced the daunting task of pivoting to remote contact rather than our typical face-to-face, experiential interactions
with our EIC community and visitors, and thanks to Claudia’s leadership, we succeeded as a team.
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With a reduced staff and budget, Claudia pooled our resources and made connections across campus to find ways to create virtual programming. Several student projects resulted in educational programs that are available on our website. Under Claudia’s direction, EIC Holland Family intern Alexis Kott gave our website a facelift and created new interpretive signage under Claudia’s guidance.
Delayed maintenance and Center landscaping projects, such as rain garden restoration, interpretive signage installation and stewardship were back on the “to-do” list with eased restrictions.
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Mucking out bottom sediments in the Rose Garden Pond (using "Rake-zilla" at right) in order to remediate a decrease in aquatic macroinvertebrate diversity, so essential to our Pond Exploration Program for schools and other groups, was definitely a team effort, and Claudia led the charge (pictured on the blue tarp). | |
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Upon the EIC’s reopening in May, 2022, Claudia initiated student projects through the College of Engineering and Computer Science that resurrected our Rouge River watershed model and a solar aerator pump in the Rose Garden Pond.
Claudia also made sure that the Center was ready once again to host local schoolchildren for onsite programs. It was wonderful to see the children once again pouring through our doors and out onto the trails for science-based programs.
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Claudia also prompted our staff to add new programs to our repertoire. The EIC became a biennial host site for Michigan State Extension’s Michigan Master Naturalist Program, filling up within days of open registration. Our Rouge River Region site experienced the same demand for this year’s program as well. | |
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Inroads into Title One schools grew once EIC programs became available. Summer camps in collaboration with Southwest STEM have welcomed students from southwest Detroit to our campus and the Environmental Study Area.
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It seemed that we crunched ten years into three! The theme of our recent benefit event, “Continuing the Vision,” speaks to the work of the past three years. We are grateful to Claudia for her ability to address immediate issues while looking into the future and imagining the possibilities ahead. We are set up to succeed and look forward to meeting the challenges yet to come.
Thank you, Claudia!
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Upcoming Programs & Partner Events | |
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1st and 3rd Wednesday of every month through the end of August,
5 - 5:45 p.m. | Meet at the EIC
All students, faculty, staff, and community members are invited to join! These 45 minute strolls, hosted by Planet Blue Ambassadors, Counseling & Psychological Services Mental Health & Wellness Peer Educators, and the Environmental Interpretive Center, are meant to help you press pause on the chaos of life and reconnect with nature and your well-being.
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Wetlands for Landowners:
Exploring Michigan’s Wetlands Workshop
July 15th, 2023, 10:00am-1:00pm Eastern
Gerald E Eddy Discovery Center,
17030 Bush Rd, Chelsea, MI
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Head out to the field to examine a range of wetland types up close, to help you recognize wetlands that might occur on your land. We’ll look at some distinctive wetland plants, and consider wetland characteristics that make for good herp habitat. Be sure to wear long pants and close-toed shoes—be prepared for mud and poison ivy!—and bring a hand lens or loupe if you have one.
This workshop is free and open to the general public, but space is limited. Register soon!
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Great Lakes Inspired Speaker Series
Great Lakes Inspired is an informal partnership of Great Lakes artists, managers and advocates seeking to strengthen and promote links between Great Lakes arts and science as a way of inspiring Great Lakes stewardship.
Join us for our first in-person event on Thursday, July 27 at 7pm as we welcome Alex Gilford and Dorothy McLeer. Our speakers will be sharing about their connection with the Detroit River, which is the heart of the Great Lakes, and their experience with conservation, specifically the history of Humbug Marsh, a wetland that was saved nearly 25 years ago thanks to the efforts of a small group of passionate citizens.
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You can find more information regarding our first in-person event and access the virtual option here: https://www.stephanieprechter.com/great-lakes-inspired
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Get Your Entries in to the
Pollinator Photo Contest!
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The 2023 Pollinator Photo Contest has begun! The EIC at the UM-Dearborn is once again sponsoring its annual Pollinator Photo Contest. The Center will accept photo entries from June 1 - September 30. Please visit our website to learn more about the contest details! It's all the buzzzzzz!
(2021 pollinators up-close winner Yi Guo,
"In the Heart of the Lily"-)
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"Crayfishing" for Invasive Species
A crew from Friends of the Rouge (FOTR), including UM-Dearborn student Jaclyn Mowry (blue T-shirt), recently spent three consecutive days trapping crayfish at Fair Lane Lake in the Environmental Study Area. It was part of an overall FOTR monitoring project to try to determine the spread of the invasive Red Swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) in the Rouge River Watershed. (Photo courtesy of FOTR)
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Capable of reproducing prolifically, Red Swamp crayfish can quickly overwhelm local populations of native crayfish by outcompeting them for habitat resources. They also reduce numbers of juvenile fish by eliminating their food and cover, and amphibians by eating their eggs. | |
The crew set up 10 crayfish traps baited with dogfood, which crayfish taste and smell sensors evidently find irresistible. The traps were checked each day and, fortunately, not a single Red Swamp crayfish was found, nor were any invasive Rusty crayfish (Orconectes rusticus). The traps did their job, however, in catching dozens of native crayfish, all of one species, the Virile crayfish (Faxonius virilis). If there are any Red Swamp crayfish (below left) or Rusty crayfish (below right) in the lake, at least they have not yet had a detrimental impact on the Faxonius population. | |
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The story of how the Red Swamp crayfish came to be an invasive species is one that involves human actions that do not take into account the potential for ecological harm. This species is native to inland areas around the Gulf coast from Louisiana west into Texas and Mexico and up the Mississippi River drainage area to southern Illinois. However, they are often transported alive to other regions as specimens for scientific study or as pets, and as fishing bait, and as the main ingredient in crawfish boils. Transport for these purposes increases the chances for escape or unintended ecological harm, well outside its native range.
At present, some states including Michigan ban the import of Swamp Red crayfish. That, and continued monitoring, may help curb their spread. Education about their invasive impacts will also play an important role. You can assist by becoming better acquainted with the identification of different species of crayfish found in Michigan, including the Swamp Red crayfish.
This field guide will help.
Rick Simek
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One of the best qualities in the great state of Michigan is the variety of freshwater lakes, rivers, and watersheds. Watersheds are areas where all the water flows towards a central point, such as the Rouge River in, which flows through 47 municipalities in southeast Michigan.
We rely on watersheds for food, drinking water, manufactured products, energy, recreation, tourism, and more. In addition, watersheds are crucial to the environment, providing diverse ecosystems filled with plenty of food, water, and shelter to sustain life.
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One easy practice to maintain a healthy watershed from your own home is to handle wastes properly. For example, make sure to pick up after your pets when you take them on a walk, and throw the waste into the trash. When you have leftover cleaning chemicals, car oil, or antifreeze, try to dispose of it at a nearby hazardous waste center to prevent the chemicals from seeping into the ground at a landfill. Similarly, instead of pouring cooking oils into the sink, put them into a sealed bag and then in your garbage. | |
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There are many ways to protect your watershed using your garden, too. Constructing a rain garden diverts water flow from the roads, which allows water to pick up pollutants before flowing down a storm drain and into a lake or river. If you have a low spot in your yard, consider planting native plants which will drink up the water that flows there.
Furthermore, when installing paths, patios, or other outdoor structures, use wood, gravel, or brick; this allows any water to soak into the ground more directly, preventing additional pollutants from entering the watershed.
Valerie Osowski* - EIC Parkhurst Fellow
*Editor's note: Valerie has invested months of research and hard work with our staff to maintain the EIC's rain gardens.
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Photos of EIC rain gardens by D. McLeer | |
Venturing outdoors and encountering nature is good for your health. Our trails are accessible, so please visit our Environmental Study Area. Stay engaged in learning activities and check out our Remote Learning Activities & Resources page for ideas to create a “Neighborhood Nature Journal” and “Family Nature Walk” activities!
We also hope to see you in person at our upcoming programs!
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Please remember...
The EIC Environmental Study Area is open daily from sunrise to sunset. We would like to remind nature-goers that fishing on site is prohibited and to leave bikes and dogs at home because they cause disruption and stress to the EIC wildlife.
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