Volunteers needed for summer stewardship in southeastern Michigan; June schedule

Residents in southeast Michigan are invited to join in the effort to protect high-quality natural areas. The Department of Natural Resources recently announced the June schedule of volunteer stewardship activities.

Volunteering for these workdays is a great way to Go Get Outdoors in many of Michigan’s state parks, breathe some fresh air, have fun and get a bit of exercise – all while enjoying beautiful scenery and learning about plants and animals.

Help is needed to hand-pull garlic mustard, an aggressive, invasive, non-native plant. June is the last chance to pull this plant before it releases its seeds for the year. Later in the month, volunteers will cut invasive, non-native shrubs like autumn olive, honeysuckle and buckthorn, and hand-pull spotted knapweed, an invasive, non-native plant that takes over in prairies. Removal of garlic mustard and spotted knapweed, similar to weeding a garden, is an enjoyable way to spend time outdoors. Volunteers of all ages are invited to participate, including youth and scout groups, service clubs, etc.

Volunteers should wear appropriate clothing for outdoor work, including long pants and sturdy, closed-toe shoes, and bring gloves and drinking water.

Workday dates, locations (counties) and times are:

• Saturday, June 1 - Waterloo Recreation Area (Washtenaw), 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. 
• Sunday, June 2 - Pinckney Recreation Area (Washtenaw), 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. 
• Wednesday, June 5 - Waterloo Recreation Area (Washtenaw), 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. 
• Saturday, June 8 - Bald Mountain Recreation Area (Oakland ), 9 a.m. to noon 
• Sunday, June 9 - Island Lake Recreation Area (Livingston), 9 a.m. to noon 
• Saturday, June 15 - Brighton Recreation Area(Livingston), 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. 
• Saturday, June 22 - Highland Recreation Area (Oakland), 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. 
• Sunday, June 23 - Brighton Recreation Area(Livingston), 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. 
• Saturday, June 29 - Island Lake Recreation Area(Livingston), 9 a.m. to noon 
• Sunday, June 30 - Algonac State Park (St. Clair), 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. 
• Sunday, June 30 - Waterloo Recreation Area (Washtenaw), 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. 

All volunteers are asked to register using the form available on the stewardship workdays calendar Web page. For registration information or questions about the volunteer stewardship workdays in Southeast Michigan, please contact Laurel Malvitz-Draper at 248-359-9057 or malvitzl@michigan.gov.

The DNR’s Volunteer Steward program is part of the Parks and Recreation Division, Stewardship Unit’s mission to “preserve, protect and restore the natural and cultural resources present within Michigan state parks for this and future generations.”

To get information about the activities on each workday, find directions or park information, or check the Volunteer Steward program calendar of events, visit www.michigan.gov/dnrvolunteers and link to the Calendar of Volunteer Stewardship Workdays.