Help keep our waters clean!

Many of us enjoy paddling our local lakes and rivers and a dozens of residents have homes along their banks. Please help keep Midland's waterways free of trash and debris...for the planet, for wildlife and for each other! For some helpful tips from the City of Midland, check out the article here. See you on the water!

Quiet Water Symposium: March 6

The following is a press release from the College of Agricultural Resources at Michigan State University about the upcoming Quiet Water Symposium at MSU on Saturday, March 6. Chippewa Nature Center has exhibited at this wonderful event which promotes the "quiet sports" such as canoeing, kayaking, hiking and much more, but we're not able to make it this year. Especially if you love paddling, it's GREAT event and you just might want to attend! 

Quiet Water Symposium highlights outdoor recreation during ANR Week conference
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Michigan is rife with lakes, rivers, trails and hills that are waiting for hikers, canoeists, fly fishers, snowshoers and campers. Learn more about these pursuits and the opportunities to enjoy them during the 15th annual Quiet Water Symposium, March 6, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Michigan State University (MSU) Pavilion for Agriculture and Livestock Education.

The symposium, part of Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR) Week at MSU, offers participants the chance to learn about human-powered outdoor recreation equipment and activities. Other outdoor equipment related to bicycling, snowshoeing, fly fishing, hiking, diving, sailing, camping, canoeing, kayaking and dog sledding as well as hand-crafted outdoor tools will be on display.

The event will feature booths hosted by representatives from outdoor clubs, outfitters, guides and campgrounds. A number of watershed councils, conservation groups and other organizations will also be on hand. Presenters include Cliff Jacobson, an accomplished outdoor guide and author, who will share his wilderness and camping skills, and Gary and Joanie McGuffin, a Canadian couple, who will talk about their ecology-oriented outdoor experiences. Eric Hanson from the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary will offer a presentation on recreational diving.

The admission fee is $8; children under 12 are admitted free. To learn more, visit www.quietwatersymposium.org. For a complete list of ANR Week programs, conferences and educational opportunities, visit www.anrweek.canr.msu.edu or contact program coordinator Megghan Honke at 517-353-3175, ext. 229, or via e-mail at honkemeg@msu.edu.

Down the Drain

Water conservation is a way of life in many parts of the world, including our own western states. Despite the obvious supply of water enjoyed by the Great Lakes states, water conservation should play a larger role in our lives as well, because it is a critical natural resource that we have the ability to overuse.

So where do you begin in reducing your “aquatic footprint?” It’s as simple as THINKING about what you pour down the drain or before you turn on the faucet. Just boiled corn or steamed broccoli? Rather than pour that water down the drain, let it cool and use it to water flowers. Collect the cold water that runs down the drain while you wait for the shower to get hot and use it on your garden, or on a patch of lawn the sprinklers don’t reach. Better yet, turn the sprinklers off or at least don’t run them in the middle of the day when literally half the water evaporates.

Don’t let water just roll down the drain while you wash your hands or brush your teeth – take a second to turn it on and off as you need it. Wash your dishes by hand, or at least run the dishwasher only when it is full. If you have a dog, use that water from the boiled corn to spice up his kibble, or the collected shower water to fill his bowl. Unhook a downspout and let the water off your roof collect into a wading pool for him to frolic in.

What will you save, a gallon a day? Maybe two, maybe three? It adds up, so don’t discount your contribution!

love your planet, eat your beans

We’ve all heard of “win-win” situations, but here’s a triple-win to improve your own health, public health and global health! The factory-and-feedlot production of animals has dire consequences for water, forests, the climate, and our own personal health (high cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart disease and various cancers are strongly linked to meat consumption.) If the thought of all-out vegetarianism is more than you can stomach, consider taking just two steps – reduce your meat consumption by 20%, and make an effort to purchase only locally-grown meat. How much could you help?

Here are some stats to consider in making your decision:

1) If all Americans reduced meat consumption by only 20%, we would reduce the amount of greenhouse gases equivalent to all of us switching to hybrid vehicles.

2) The production of beef in this country consumes more water than our entire fruit & vegetable crop. Want to reduce your use of water? Either don’t shower for a YEAR, or eat just one less pound of hamburger, because it takes over 2,000 pounds of water to produce one pound of hamburger!

3) 30 percent of the ice-free land on this planet is being used for animal production; 30% of Brazil’s deforestation is for cattle ranching.

4) The Exxon Valdez got a lot of press for dumping 12 million gallons of crude oil. But how many of us heard about the spill of hog waste in North Carolina (not an unusual accident in the animal industry) that released TWICE that amount of feces and urine, and caused 364,000 acres to be closed to shellfishing?

5) And for your personal health, fear not the lack of meat – ALL nutrients, including the 8 essential amino acids, vitamins, iron, magnesium, etc. – can be found in a VARIED plant-based diet. To learn more about how to reduce your meat consumption in a healthy manner, check out the North American Vegetarian Society (http://www.navs-online.org/)  or the Vegetarian Resource Group (http://www.vrg.org/) , or read “The Food Revolution: How Your Diet Can Help Save Your Life and Our World” (John Robbins).

Live Green this Summer!

The Sierra Club is at it again, providing all of us in cyberspace a great collection of Green Living Tips for Summer! Check them out here: Summer Green Tips - Sierra Club and be inspired to make a difference in YOUR life to live lightly on Planet Earth!

Green Tips for Every Day

Enjoy these green living tips from CNC Senior Naturalist, Janea Little: 1) Don’t water your lawn -- no need to purchase sprinkler equipment, pay for extra water use, or mow as frequently. 2) Use the savings from #1 to replace 50% of your “lawn” with a landscape of native species. It doesn’t matter whether you want short plants or tall, flowers or trees, fruiting shrubs or intriguing shapes – there are native plants that can satisfy you. 3) Save gas by parking at the far end of the mega parking lot instead of circling for the closest spot. BONUS BENEFIT: If your child is in a biology class and needs to make an insect collection, check the car grills on your way in! 4) Instead of your downspouts shooting water into the already over-loaded storm sewers, let them drain into a rain garden, rain barrel, or just a big wading pool that the family pooch can enjoy. Be careful with the wading pool, though, because birds, butterflies and other wildlife will sometimes try to drink from this “pond”, only to learn too late that there is no way out. You can solve this safety hazard by putting a large rock or a few bricks in one spot, so the struggling animal can crawl out of the water. 5) Other water-saving techniques include collecting water that you usually just send down the drain, such as that first gallon of cold water from the shower head, water from steaming veggies, etc. All of that water (several gallons’ worth for most families) can be used again for the pooch, or for the garden, planter boxes or some of your newly-planted native trees. 6) Compost. It saves water (if you normally use a garbage disposal) and reduces the waste sent to the landfill. It also gets you OUTDOORS – to make use of your new treasure (rich soil!). 7) Step away from the TV now and then to take a walk, or read a book about nature. And of course, make sure your TV, DVD player and other electronic equipment is plugged into a power strip, so you can shut power off to them completely. For other tips on saving energy and living green, check out the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy and The Daily Green.

What are Wetlands for?

“But what is it FOR?” My dad asked the same question a third time, trying to derive something from my first two answers that made sense of the “wasteland” we were driving by. I always ogled this particular wetlands area, even as a “drive-by”, to look for black terns, great blue herons, blue-winged teal, sandhill cranes and other great wildlife that used it either for breeding or during migration. As my Dad and I drove by and he first asked its purpose, I assumed it was just a small-talk question from Visiting Dad, so I told him it’s a wetlands area, and is wonderful for wildlife. “Yes, but it doesn’t look like it’s being used for anything. What’s it for?” he asked again. I spewed more details on the wildlife, and threw in the value of wetlands for flood control, figuring since he lived near the Mississippi River he would value anything that could reduce flood damage. When he repeated the question a third time, clearly frustrated by my inability to understand basic economics, I finally understood – what direct, tangible, countable, dollars-and-cents benefit could he or society GAIN from this land? What was it FOR? ”Oh,” I said, as though everything else I had mentioned was just fluff, “well, it’s used as a nursery for northern pike.” Pay dirt at last – he was pleased that the land wasn’t going to “waste” after all.

If your property has been damaged by floodwaters, your well contaminated by nitrates, or your riverside cabin is crumbling off an eroding bank, words like “flood control, soil erosion, and water purification” strike you as serious benefits provided by wetlands. Throw in “wildlife habitat” and it’s a no-brainer that wetlands are valuable, right? But historically they have been viewed as a problem to be solved, a nemesis to progress and development, and land that might someday be “reclaimed” into something worthwhile.

The foremost way to reclaim such land was to drain it, using pipes, culverts and roadside ditches to move all that water “away” as fast as possible. The problem is the water doesn’t just go “away” – it inundates everything downstream, and carries tons of soil with it. Wetlands regulate water flow by spreading it out, slowing it down and releasing it more slowly into rivers, streams and lakes. This slowing-down process reduces soil erosion and silt-load, and stabilizes water temperature, preventing the fish kills that can occur when large quantities of too-hot water (from parking lots, rooftops and roadways) are quickly channeled into a colder body of water. Cattail marshes and wet meadows, in particular, also filter nitrates, pesticides and other toxins from water, sending cleaner water downstream and into underground aquifers.

For myself, wetlands, whether they be swamps, marshes, bogs, fens or lake-plain prairies, will still be most noticeably valuable as havens for wildlife, providing food, nesting areas and migration rest stops for literally thousands of species of birds, mammals, fish, frogs, snakes, turtles, insects. . . you get the picture. If you ask me, that’s what wetlands are FOR.

- Janea Little, CNC Senior Naturalist

Turn it Down!

Not the rock-n-roll...your hot water heater! Did you know that hot water heaters typically rank as the third biggest energy user in the home? Especially if your heater is electric, it will make up 15-35% of your total energy bill (right behind the heating/cooling system and refrigerator). Very few of us would gladly give up hot water altogether, but there are ways to make our hot water use a lot more energy efficient. First of all, most of us have our heaters turned up too far. Save energy by turning down the thermostat to 120 degrees. (My daughter emerged from the shower one day looking like a lobster after a close encounter with too-hot water.) Second, install a low-flow shower head and faucet aerators around your home. By using less water, the heater simply has less work to do! Also wash and rinse your clothes in cold water, which does the job just as good, but uses a LOT less energy! Also pay attention to your hot water heater tank. An insulating blanket can help keep ambient heat from escaping and be sure to fix any leaks promptly. When it's time to replace your heater, consider a tankless or "on-demand" type, which provides hot water as you need it and doesn't constantly heat and store so many gallons all the time.