Mackinac Straits Raptor Watch
Mackinaw City – mackinacraptorwatch.org
Tour Hammond Bay Biological Station, See the “Vampires” of the Great Lakes
See the Great Lakes “vampire” fish, live sea lamprey—at Hammond Bay Biological Station on Saturday, April 13, 10:00 AM &11:00 AM. Pre-registration is required. Learn how the invasive fish traveled from the Atlantic Ocean to our lakes and streams to devastate the lake fish populations.
The invasive sea lamprey is a jawless fish that feeds by sucking the blood of fish by attaching to them using more than 100 teeth and a file-like tongue to drill through their skin. See hundreds of sea lamprey in research tanks and learn about cutting-edge research being done to control them.
Hammond Bay Biological Station has been the hub for sea lamprey research in the Great Lakes region since 1950. The control program successfully reduces the sea lamprey population by approximately 90% on a yearly basis. Each tour limited to 10 participants. Preregistration required. Contact Andrea Miehls, amiehls@glfc.org or 989-734-4768 x135. View map and directions.
Traditional Sunrise Ceremony
Join a traditional Native American Sunrise Ceremony, April 28, Sunday morning, 6:30 a.m.- noon. The ceremony will be held under a covered lodge, rain or shine.
Bill Nash and Native Americans teach the traditions about celebrating earth, water, and nature. Listen to the native drumming in celebration of Mother Earth.
Hear about the importance of storytelling in native cultures. Learn about the significance of animals and nature in the ceremonial rituals. Traditional materials are used in the ceremony, with all attendees participating. Take part in the communal meal following the ceremony; bring a dish to pass.
Directions: The ceremony is at the home of Bill and Colleen Nash, 2595 Seven Fires Trail, Indian River. Take M-68 3.8 miles east of I-75 to Dey Rd. Turn right or south, on Dey Rd. to Seven Fires Tr., turn right on Seven Fires Trail, and 2595 will be on the left. Additional information, Bill Nash at (231) 238-0898 or nashgoog@aol.com.
Tour Emmet County Recycling Center
See what happens to the materials in the big green bins! Learn how robots, magnets, and hand-sorting are used to separate materials. Find out why recycling is good for Michigan business.
Emmet County features a dual stream system using 2 categories—paper, bags and boxes, and mixed containers. 95% of the recycled materials are shipped to Michigan businesses to be remanufactured into something else for reuse. Cereal boxes, tissue products, and detergent jugs are among the recycled products we may see again on our store shelves.
Registration is suggested. See emmetrecycling.org to sign up. Go to Info & Guides and click Tour the Recycling Center! Choose the May 6 tour. Layer up according to the weather, as part of the tour is outdoors. Wear fully enclosed shoes or boots, no high heels. The tour includes several sets of stairs.
Viewing the video showing parts of the sorting machinery (at emmetrecycling.org) will enhance the,tour. 7363 S. Pleasant View Rd., Harbor Springs.
Guided Sturgeon Viewing and Hatchery Tour
See the magnificent, huge, prehistoric lake sturgeon in their natural Black River habitat as they migrate upstream to spawn. Watch the MSU research team net and tag sturgeon to monitor the adult population. Learn about ongoing collaborative efforts that continue to restore and rehabilitate the iconic lake sturgeon.
Jay Woiderski, president of Sturgeon for Tomorrow guides participants along the Black River to view the sturgeon. He explains what is being done to protect them. Following the riverbank experience, participants will visit the nearby sturgeon hatchery to see larval lake sturgeon. Sturgeon for Tomorrow assists fisheries managers in the rehabilitation of this prehistoric fish.
The free tour is limited. Pre-registration is required. To save your spot, register at www.sturgeonfortomorrow.org and click on Events to register.
Learn to Become a Citizen Scientist with Little Traverse Conservancy
Learn about the program to observe nature and gather data to be used by scientists. Derek Shiels, of Little Traverse Conservancy, will teach how to use your cell phone with the iNaturalist.org tool for collecting information. Become an EcoSteward volunteer to explore, collect, research, restore, and share your results.
You may choose to monitor native Michigan animal species, invasive plants, or other natural resources of northern Michigan. Your observations will be used by scientists and the LTC staff to learn about biodiversity and LTC preserve activity.
Meet at the new Little Traverse Conservancy preserve southeast of Indian River.
Tour the Sea Lamprey Traps at Cheboygan Dam
See how this invasive species, the Vampires of the Great Lakes, is captured at the dam for study by scientists at the Hammond Bay Biological Station. Learn how this fish predator is being controlled. Meet at Cheboygan dam, off Lincoln Ave., Thursday, May 16, 9:00 AM.
Watch the Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) workers raise the cages at the bottom of the Cheboygan dam that trap sea lamprey, restricting them from swimming upstream. Learn what happens to the sea lamprey as they are loaded into the fish truck for study at the Hammond Bay Biological Station research facility.
Park in the boat launch lot on the north side of Lincoln Ave; walk down the stairs on the north end of the lot. Limit 20 participants. Preregistration required. Contact Andrea Miehls, amiehls@glfc.org or 989-734-4768 X 135. View map and directions.
Tour the Cheboygan Wastewater Treatment Facility
Which is more important—the water coming into or going out of our homes?
The City of Cheboygan Water Department maintains about 49 miles of distribution piping, four production wells, and one 500,000-gallon water storage tower. The average daily production is nearly a million gallons, servicing more than 2,000 residential and commercial billing accounts.
Learn about the multi-million-dollar upgrades that have been done, and how they improve water quality and affect wastewater treatment. Jason Karmol, Director of Cheboygan’s Department of Public Works (DPW), directs the tour.
Karmol will explain how the City recycles about 2 million gallons of wastewater a day, which can increase to 9 million gallons during wet weather conditions. Following treatment, wastewater is discharged into the Cheboygan River, approximately 1/2 mile from the mouth of the river, where it flows into Lake Huron.
Meet at the water treatment plant at 975 N. Huron, Cheboygan, Saturday, May 18, 10:00 am. Dress for the weather of the day as part of the tour is outdoors.
Harvest Thyme Farm Tour
Visit a working farm and see how fresh produce can be grown nearly 10 months of the year. Greta Jankoviak and Brendan Prewitt have a thriving 5-acre farm. They grow and harvest amazing vegetables and stunning flowers.
Learn about produce being grown organically, using compost and poultry manure as primary fertilizers. No GMO crops are grown; and no herbicides are used in vegetable production.
What began as a small table at the Farmers Market in 2014 has grown into multiple tables at the Market, an on-site Farm Stand, and a Member Farm Share program. The greenhouses will be open, and the plant sale will be available to visitors.
Harvest Thyme Farm, 4848 Indian Trail Rd., Cheboygan
Tour a Local Homestead
Gardens, chickens, pasture pigs, cows, and 16 kilowatts of solar power. 11151 Townline Rd.
Monarchs Matter
Lauri Juday, a local monarch enthusiast, will share how she protects monarchs and fosters their survival. Door prizes. Cheboygan Area Public Library, 100 S. Bailey, Cheboygan MI.
Little Traverse Bay Band of the Odawa Fishery Tour
The tribe’s DNR manages a small scale fish hatchery, conducting research and rearing several different species including Sturgeon, Whitefish and Herring/Cisco. 5766 Drier Rd., Levering, MI 49755
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Traditional Native American Syrup — CANCELLED DUE TO WARM WEATHER
See the traditional way Native Americans made syrup at Keith Knecht’s Sugar Bush, 2152 Cassidy Road, Levering MI 49755.
Tour a modern maple syrup production.
Bonz Beach Farm
20706 Bonz Beach Hwy., Onaway, 49765
Deep Rising
Matthieu Rytz’s documentary film about the bounty at the bottom of the sea examines the fight over whether to reap these riches or preserve them. Cheboygan Opera House, 403 N. Huron St., Cheboygan. Open seating, free admission.