Author Archive

Take a survey to help inform the Parks and Recreation Commission master plan.

You’re on the golf course, and you’re about to take your next shot. Your eyes narrow on the flag. You take a few deep breaths and let them out. Listen to the wind and the birds sing. You swing your club and it whistles through the air. Your friend shakes his head. He knows he lost yet another round. You look around and glory in your success. Isn’t it great that you have this area in which you can play golf, enjoy the sun, and witness your friends lose? Now imagine if this didn’t exist…

The Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation Commission is working on a master plan that acts as a guide to the development and operation of the county’s parks, preserves, and other recreational activities. Included in these activities are multiple recreation centers, water parks, and — you guessed it! — a golf course. In order to manage these areas to the best of their ability, they need information from you!

You can fill out their survey here:  Washtenaw County Parks Survey. By giving your feedback, YOU can have a direct say in how your parks will be managed.

Plus, you can enter a drawing to win one of several prizes. Five lucky participants will receive one of the following: a pass to the Rolling Hills Water Park or Independence Lake’s Blue Heron Bay Spray Zone; Yearly Vehicle Entry Pass; a round of golf at Pierce Lake Golf Course; or a day pass to the Meri Lou Murray Recreation Center.

If you have any other questions or additional comments, you can contact Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation office via phone at 734-971-6337 or via email at parks@ewashtenaw.org.

Discount rain barrels for sale at two community events this spring!

Save at least 20% off regular prices. Two sales + one great supplier (Great Lakes Rain Barrel) = Water saved, Huron protected

Rain Barrels come with all parts needed for installation and operation and can be used “planter-style.”

Option 1 = Washtenaw County Area

Pre-order your barrel online by Monday May 13 and pick it up on Saturday May 18th.

Go to www.hrwc.org/rainbarrels for more information and to order.

Use promo code HRWC1 or HRWC2, depending on which barrel you want.

Discounted prices on a 65-gallon Rain Barrel (85% recycled RainStation in charcoal), $75, promo code HRWC1; OR a 65-gallon Rain Barrel (Granite Classic Edition), $85, promo code HRWC2. All pre-orders MUST be picked up at the sale location on the day of the event.

Pickup: Saturday, May 18, 9am-2pm
Washtenaw County Road Commission
555 N. Zeeb Rd., Ann Arbor, MI

Hosted by Great Lakes Rain Barrel, HRWC, the City of Ann Arbor, the Washtenaw County Water Resources Commissioner, the Washtenaw County Road Commission, and Barton Hills Village.

Option 2 = Down River

Pre-order your barrel online by Monday May 6 and pick it up on Saturday May 11th.

Go to www.greatlakesrainbarrel.com for more information and to order.

Use promo code SAVEH2O.

Discounted price on a 65-gallon Rain Barrel (85% recycled RainStation in charcoal). The barrels are available for $75.00 (regular $99.99 value) using the promo code SAVEH2O. All pre-orders MUST be picked up at the sale location on the day of the event.

Pick Up:  Saturday, May 11th 10am-2pm
Van Buren Township Hall
46425 Tyler Road
Belleville, MI 48111

Hosted by Great Lakes Rain Barrel and the Alliance of Downriver Watersheds.

Questions? Contact Great Lakes Rain Barrel at chris@greatlakesrainbarrel.com or 248.477.6988

Pledge to conserve water and reduce pollution!

The month of April is the Second Annual National Mayor’s Challenge for Water Conservation, a friendly, community-based competition between cities across the nation to see who can be the most “water wise.”

Presented by the Wyland Foundation, the month-long Challenge invites city leaders and their residents to pledge to conserve water.  All those who take the pledge are entered into a national competition with other communities to win hundreds of prizes – including a Toyota Prius, water saving fixtures and Never Waste water bottles from the Alliance for Water Efficiency. Last year residents from over 1,000 cities participated and pledged to save a total of 4.7 billion gallons of water.

HRWC Deputy Director Elizabeth Riggs helped pre-launch the campaign with a presentation to 6-8th grades at Tappan Middle School in Ann Arbor.  HRWC and Ann Arbor Mayor John Hieftje were invited to introduce the Wyland Foundation’s mobile learning experience to the Tappan community and talk about HRWC’s work.

HRWC’s Saving Water Saves Energy program has lots of tips, tools and calculators on saving water, as well as a new 60-second PSA that promotes the connection between water and energy. Start your April by joining in the National Mayor’s Challenge and by going to www.h2oheroes.org to tap into the H2O Hero in you!

At the Home, Garden & Lifestyle Show, March 15-17

Saturday, March 16, 11am-5pm, Ask the Expert! Susan Bryan, Rain Garden Coordinator for the Washtenaw County Water Resources Commissioner’s Office will be on hand to answer questions and offer advice on all things rain garden. Get a basic introduction or in-depth answers to your rain garden design and installation questions.

Throughout the weekend, HRWC and WCWRC are teaming up to share outdoor water saving tips, rain garden design and installation materials, native plant information and the H2O Heroes spring rain barrel sale with the public. Free copies of Landscaping for Water Quality, Garden Designs for Homeowners, 3rd Edition will be available.

Booth: E169
Home, Garden & Lifestyle Show, March 15-17
Friday 3-9, Saturday 10-7, Sunday 11-5
Washtenaw Farm Council Grounds, 5055 Ann Arbor-Saline Rd
Admission $5, 12 and under free

Free tickets for HRWC members available — contact Pam, plabadie@hrwc.org, (734) 769-5123 x 602.

The Huron:  Rivers of Michigan Series

By Kit Lane

Reviewed by Grace Shackman

Kit Lane has saved Huron River enthusiasts a great deal of time by collecting all the facts she can about our river.  The Saugatuck-based author has written more than twenty books on Michigan history including one on John Allen, Ann Arbor’s co-founder, and four on other rivers in the state.

The book starts with an explanation of how the Huron was formed, followed by pre-settlement travelers’ accounts and information on early river communities.  Lane explains why dams were built and discusses the issue of removal.  Her chapter on environmental concerns goes into detail on the founding and work of the Huron River Watershed Council.

Lane includes specific information helpful to river users such as boating conditions, variety of rapids, parks, and trails.  The second half of the book is devoted to a trip down the Huron listing all the public places where people can stop.

In the course of the book Lane answers several questions I’ve always wondered about.  One is whether LaSalle really did use the Huron River when he took a trip across the state in 1680. Lane thinks he did and using a translation of his journal identifies where he stopped.  Another is why the river wasn’t used by early settlers to move their supplies.  The answer is it was too shallow after Rawsonville and the rock bottom didn’t allow deepening. One criticism, in two places she says that Ann Arbor was founded in 1823, when it was 1824, a fact she does get right in her book about John Allen.

Grace Shackman writes history articles for several local publications as well as teaching Washtenaw history and architecture at Washtenaw Community College.

The Huron: Rivers of Michigan Series, is 168 pages, with black and white maps, old postcard views, newly shot photographs, and a full index with bibliography. It retails for $18.50 and is available for purchase locally at the West Side Book Shop, 113 West Liberty, Ann Arbor.

HRWC would like to thank author Kit Lane for sharing her book with us and Grace Shackman for writing this review.

Sepp Holzer To Lecture on Ecological Farming Techniques at the University of Michigan Ann Arbor

Tuesday, April 2, 6:30-9pm
Rackham Amphitheatre, (Rackham Building, 4th floor)
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

In-depth Three Day Permaculture Course, April 2-4, 2013 also offered.

Permaculture is a whole-systems-design-approach to land, water, food, energy and buildings. When it comes to water, permaculture designers create landscapes that catch, store, clean and reuse water resources. These methods have numerous benefits to ecosystems and watersheds, including water conservation, aquifer restoration, minimizing soil runoff and erosion control. Permaculture utilizes organic agriculture practices, eliminating the use of toxic pesticides and chemicals that pollute our rivers, streams, and damage biodiversity. The goal of Permaculture design is to provide for human needs and protect diverse ecosystems, all within the flow of natural patterns and cycles.

Sepp Holzer has pioneered the use of ecological farming and Permaculture throughout the world. He began farming this way in Austria in the 1960’s after being unsuccessful with conventional agriculture methods. He is known as the “rebel farmer” because he persisted despite being fined and even threatened with prison. His “Krameterhoff” farm in the Austrian alps receives thousands of students and visitors each year.

Friday, February 22, 6pm
Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor

Support HRWC by watching films!

The  2013 Fly Fishing Film Tour is coming to Ann Arbor to share stunning films from places as diverse as the jungles of Thailand, northern California, Alaska, the Potomac River and even the “trophy waters” of Michigan’s own Au Sable River. These films are guaranteed to deepen your love of fly fishing or inspire you to learn the sport.

Take a look at the F3T Trailers, then get your tickets. If you’ve ever spent time fishing or paddling the Huron River or even helping HRWC look for stoneflies or other macroinvertebrates at one of our Roundups, you won’t want to miss this!

Discount tickets are available for HRWC members — $13 each (regularly $15).

Buy two tickets and F3T will donate half the proceeds back to HRWC.

Discount tickets available at:

Schultz Outfitters
4 East Cross Street
Ypsilanti, MI
734-544-1761

HRWC Offices
1100 North Main Street, Suite 210-A
Ann Arbor, MI
734-769-5123 x 602 (Pam Labadie)

With a new app for your smart phone.

The UConn Center for Land Use Education and Research (CLEAR) has developed a Rain Garden smart phone app that is now available for download from iTunes.

Native New England Asters and Black Eyed Susans at the Prairie Briarcliff Rain Garden in Ann Arbor.

The app is targeted to homeowners and contractors, and leads the user through the proper siting, sizing, construction, planting and maintenance of a rain garden.  It includes nifty tools to help the user figure out the proper size of the garden, find out about local soil conditions, get a handle on the price of construction, and customize a plant list that will delight the eye while soaking up stormwater.   In addition, there are 6 short video segments explaining various aspects of rain garden care and feeding.

The app is only for iPhones at the moment, but CLEAR promises an Android version out soon.  Also, the imagery and plants are specific to CT, but they are starting work on a national version that will have extensive databases for each area of the country.  CLEAR is looking for help in expanding these tools if you are interested.

Go directly to the App’s info page on the iTunes store.

Go to Rain Garden App page on Nonpoint Education for Municipal Officials website.

Here’s a way to make the photos of your 2012 Watershed Community Calendar last a little longer!

Download and print our 2013 CALENDAR INSERT PAGES for 12 more months of water pollution prevention reminders. You supply the scissors and tape.

Laura Rubin to give talk on the health of the Huron River watershed at Washtenaw Community College

WCC faculty members are creating a greater understanding of environmental issues with a yearlong series of awareness events and activities focusing on Michigan’s waterways. WCC’s

Laura Rubin, HRWC Executive Director. Photo: H. Buffman

“Year of Water” officially kicked off in July and August with a few awareness activities for students. Join HRWC Executive Director Laura Rubin as she gives an overview of the health of the Huron River watershed as part of WCC’s ongoing commitment to support and sustain the environment and their year-long focus on water.

Date: Thursday, November 29, 2012

Time: 6-7:30pm

Location: Great Lakes Training Center, Room 202 (Campus Map)

Free and open to the public.

A number of other activities are planned throughout the year. Click HERE for a WCC news article about the “Year of Water”.