Collecting the Evidence of Change
Over the last 30 years, invasive species like zebra and quagga mussels and the round goby have rapidly and completely changed the water [...]
TagClimate Change
The River Restorer
From the time of European settlement in the 1800s, Michigan’s rivers have been dammed, channelized, and pinched by road crossings. Often heating up [...]
Environmental Change & Community Health – Nursing Professionals Speak Out
The spring and fall allergy seasons have grown longer and more severe over the last few decades. That’s one of the observations three [...]
Beautiful Biochar
This photo essay re-introduces Nature Change readers to a very old way of enriching our soils while managing the disposal of wood wastes. [...]
The Fate of the Lower Boardman River
Is the Lower Boardman River being choked with development? Can it handle the stormwater pouring off urban areas throughout the Traverse City Area? [...]
Why Native Plants Are the Better Choice for a Changing World
In this article by Emily Cook, we learn why and how plants native to this region are best for landscaping around our buildings [...]
The Fisheries Management Biologist
As dam removals and restoration efforts proceed on the Boardman River, how is the fishery faring? How is Michigan’s Department of Natural Resources [...]
Revealing Connections – Two Years of Nature Change
Northern Michigan’s landscapes are changing as invasive species, urban development and climate change alter, damage or destroy familiar plant and animal communities on [...]
The River Guide
How have our northern Michigan rivers changed? Have the increasingly frequent and severe storms impacted our rivers? What effects have the dead and [...]
Viewers’ Choice 2017
In all, 39 photo and video essays were published on Nature Change in 2017. Here’s a quick review of the ten most popular [...]
The Conservationists of Tomorrow – Nature-based Childhood Education
The clean waters and beautiful landscapes we grew up with have changed. In less than a generation, invasive pests and diseases have completely [...]
Nature Change Heros: Volunteer Conservationists
In this essay, Nature Change Editor, Joe VanderMeulen reflects on the heros among us. If you love fishing, bird watching, walking in the [...]
Eating for Climate Resilience
This very timely essay and guide was submitted by nutritionists, Kelly Wilson and Paula Martin from Taste the Local Difference (TLD). Please read [...]
Thanking the Farmers – A Visit at Providence Farm
Traveling the rolling landscapes of Northern Michigan, you can see a beautiful patchwork quilt of small farms brimming with natural beauty. Many of [...]
Climate Weirding & the Mysterious Great Lakes
Complex systems with weird behavior might describe both the global atmosphere and the Great Lakes. In this essay, noted environmental policy expert and [...]
Climate Change Bites – Apple Farmers Face New Risks
Apples! One of Michigan’s largest and most valuable crops, there are over 11 million apple trees in commercial production helping to support 825 [...]
Nature Change TV – Episode One: Fighting Invasive Plants
In this made for TV, 28-minute video, we learn about three separate efforts to battle three highly-destructive invasive plants: Garlic Mustard, Japanese Knotweed and [...]
Monitoring Change in the Waters of Leelanau
Change is inevitable. But some changes in the region’s natural resources are caused and accelerated by human activities. In these cases, informed people can make [...]
Improving Tree Canopy for Climate Resilience
The Watershed Center Grand Traverse Bay is sharing some good news. Mature trees can play an important role in controlling and limiting stormwater [...]
Witness: Dr. Lisa Del Buono
A surgical pathologist, Dr. Lisa Del Buono works in a laboratory serving all of Northwest Lower Michigan. She is also a leading voice [...]
Grass River Natural Area – Facing the Challenge of Climate Change
This video is about people who are entrusted with the protection and preservation of one of northern Michigan’s most important and revered natural [...]
Mackinac Straits Raptor Watch – Part 2. Ed Pike and the Young Owl Banders
In this short video, Nature Change offers an optimistic story about people – young and a bit older – who demonstrate true commitment [...]
Moving to the Land of Milliken – The Values of Place
Submitted by Dave Dempsey, this essay starts with a critical question. How important is place? To Michigan’s longest serving governor, Traverse City’s own [...]
Regenerating Damaged Forests & the Challenge of Overbrowsing
Are there too many deer in Northern Michigan? Many foresters and forest land managers respond with a resounding YES to that question. This [...]