Mackinac Straits Raptor Watch – Part 1. Soaring Across Big Water
This video begins with a small group of avid bird watchers gathering in a field on the western outskirts of Mackinaw City. Each
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Volunteer Conservationists
Volunteer conservationists across the region play a pivotal role in helping nonprofit organizations preserve, protect, and manage the natural resources of Northwest Lower Michigan. Working alone, in small groups and among the crowds at work bees, these people plant trees and shrubs, count birds, collect water samples, pick up trash and a host of other activities that can help to improve wildlife habitat and sustain natural ecosystems.
During this time of great change, volunteer conservationists are also helping to improve the odds for the rare and endangered plants and animals that live in our region. By preserving the best of what’s left – streams, woods, wetlands – they help increase the resilience of ecosystems against the continuing threats of development, invasive species and climate change.
These short multimedia stories reveal and celebrate some of the many ways volunteer conservationists answer the question: How can we help conserve, preserve and protect the beautiful plants, animals and landscapes in Northwest Lower Michigan?
Japanese Barberry & Blacklegged Ticks – On the Thorns of a Dilemma
In this video, Nature Change explores the impacts and rising concerns over an invasive species of plant that increases the threat of lyme
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Volunteerism & Tenacity – Improving Access to Nature at Brown Bridge Quiet Area
Over several winter days, a dedicated work crew gathered at Traverse City’s Brown Bridge Quiet Area to create something special for all of
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Volunteers Going Deep! Documenting the Changing Ecology of Lake Michigan
In the summer of 2006, thousands of water birds like seagulls and loons were killed by botulism toxins along the shores of Sleeping
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The Most Viewed Stories of 2016 – A Year End Review
In March of this year, we launched Nature Change to offer educational short videos and photo-essays on how people are responding to on-going
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Stephanie Mills Introduces the Human Nature School
Last spring, the noted bioregionalist and widely published writer, Stephanie Mills encouraged Nature Change to look at alternative education options for re-connecting people
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Vernal Pool Middle School: Learning the Mysteries of a Vernal Pool
This video essay celebrates some of northern Michigan’s most threatened wetlands and some of the young citizen scientists working to better understand and preserve them.
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Invaders! Combating the Spread of Garlic Mustard
This is a story about people facing down an overwhelming invader. Who will win the war is not certain, but the battle against
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Restoring a Native Meadow with Seed Bombs
By Derek Shiels, Conservation Easement Specialist, Little Traverse Conservancy Whether we like it or not, whether we know it or not, we impact
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Volunteer Conservationists: Habitat Restoration at Brown Bridge
One Saturday last October, a group of volunteers set out to plant thousands of trees and shrubs along the Boardman River in the
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Volunteer Conservationists: Helping Preserve the American Kestrel
Over the last several years, the Little Traverse Conservancy has developed an EcoSteward volunteer program to help people get involved in science-based activities related
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