EHRA’s creators are UM-Dearborn faculty members Drs. Carmel Price and Natalie Sampson. Dr. Price is an associate professor of sociology and an affiliate faculty of the Center for Arab American Studies and the Women and Gender Studies programs at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. 

Dr. Sampson is an Associate Professor of Public Health, working across sectors and disciplines to understand and address the environmental justice implications of land use planning and infrastructure with community, academic, and agency partners. 

Stealth Weeders

Weeding the rain garden became a family affair last week, due to the efforts of the Napieralski Family! That name may sound familiar because Jacob Napieralski is our EIC Director.



Jacob's wife, Lise, has consistently been volunteering time in the many EIC gardens that we steward, but this time she brought back-up. The foursome swooped in, filled several wheelbarrows with plants for the compost bins, and then vanished.

Thank you, Alex, Jacob, Lise, and James!

Join us for an hour of fun!

Wednesdays from 4:00-5:00 p.m. 

September 11th and 25th. (August off) 

Best for children 7 and under. For adults bringing children of various ages, there is an option for older kids (7+) to enjoy a nature walk with an EIC naturalist while younger kids. Free & open to the public. Meet in the EIC Exhibit Area. Music & Bubbles, Observe Wildlife, Nature Themed Books, Crafts or Activities, optional nature walk afterwards. Please register for this program.

Saturday Morning Bird Walks

September 7-October 12

9:00 am-11 am

Join Rick Simek for a leisurely stroll to see which resident and migrating birds are foraging for their morning meal in the Environmental Study Area. Binoculars are recommended, but not required. Meet at the EIC. (Male Wilson's Warbler by Alexander Viduetsky )

Year-round Young Naturalist Program!

This year-round program offers four seasons of exciting outdoor science and nature investigations for children 9 to 12 years old. Monthly sessions take place on Saturdays from 9:30 am to noon, starting in September and continuing through May.

Session topics include pond studies, insects and spiders, creatures of the soil, birds and migration, owls, animal tracking, wildflowers and trees, and learning about how maple syrup is made right here at the EIC. Participants receive a field pack, field guides, and assorted field equipment. There is a fee for this program, which requires pre-registration for this program.

Pollinator Photo Contest

The EIC and UM-Dearborn’s Bee Campus USA Committee are accepting entries for the 5^th annual Pollinator Photo Contest. Since 2020, hundreds of photos have been entered into the contest from 24 states in the US, as well as other countries, including Canada, Lebanon, Finland, Germany, and Chile! 

(Syrphid fly photo by Roger Rittmaster)

As time goes by, woody plants, such as thorny vines, shrubs and trees, begin to sprout up, mixing in with the meadow species. The formerly open field becomes “old,” but the habitat itself remains “young.” This transitional habitat type is known as old field.

The back-story of the old field in the ESA involves a change in habitat management that took place not long ago. From the mid-1990s until around 2015, a two-acre space was brush-hogged every winter to enable university classes to study the pioneer plant community there each subsequent spring and summer. In just nine years since the mowing was discontinued, the space is now a mix of meadow plants and scrubby, shrubby woody plants and small trees: an old field. 

The plant species composition and habitat structure of the ESA old field provides four seasons of benefits to wildlife. The thickets provide ideal nesting shelter for bird species such as Gray Catbird and Rose-breasted Grosbeak. (Male RB-grosbeak by Jim Simek)

We are grateful for the assistance of the the following EIC volunteers in establishing the new trail: Chuck Irish and Lisa Campbell (pictured left), John Berger, Ouday Hashem, Michael Kowalski, Karthik Krishnamurthy, Keith Kushner, and Joe Turek. (Photo by Joe Turek)

We hope you can take some time on a future visit to the ESA to enjoy this new trail!

-Rick Simek, Natural Areas Manager

Homegrown Tomatoes and More!

Have you ever tried to grow your own food? Like the classic Guy Clark song goes, "What would life be without homegrown tomatoes?" Growing fruits and vegetables at home is a simple way to reduce your grocery expenses as well as carbon emissions, food waste, plastic pollution, and other harmful effects on the environment.

Even better is organic gardening, which avoids the use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers. This comes with an additional set of benefits, such as improved water retention and soil quality. 

To promote the sustainable and rewarding practice of organic gardening, the Environmental Interpretive Center hosts a Children’s Gardening Program every growing season at the Community Organic Garden on campus. This program allows children ages 6-8 to grow their own food and learn about the “ingredients” of a successful organic garden.

This growing season, I have had the pleasure of working with 13 young gardeners, who we like to call “Sprouts,” at the Children’s Garden. Each Sprout has been given their own small plot to maintain, as well as a few community plots to work on as a group.

In Case You Missed This...

A "pop-up" swarm of dragonflies caused excitement at a Rhode Island beach. Virginia Brown, a dragonfly expert and author of "Dragonflies and Damselflies of Rhode Island,” said the swarm took place outside the typical migration period for dragonflies that's between mid-August and mid-September. Brown said dragonflies are a key part of the ecosystem, as they eat mosquitos and other pests, and also serve as food for birds and even carnivorous plants. "They're extremely important in that web of life."