HRWC hosted a Walk Along the Huron on Saturday with our own Kris Olsson, Watershed Ecologist, and one of our expert Bioreserve Project volunteers Robert Ayotte, who is an adjunct Forest Ecologist.
It was a sunny summer day at Huron Meadows Metropark. With a group of twenty-four hikers, we had a range of interest in local geology, plant and tree identification, insect identification, and natural history. Kris started off the walk with a lesson in how the land was impacted by glaciers thousands of years ago, leaving behind soil and rock, and how the Huron River later cut through the land to appear as it is today. In addition, Kris presented the many different ecosystems we would see throughout our walk, including various types of wetlands and forests.
Our Walk along the Beech Alley trail began with a word on invasive trees such as the Autumn Olive and the Buckthorn. Then, we continued walking down into a wetland area where we saw skunk cabbage, identified poison ivy, and many types of sedges.
The trail took us past a steep cliff along the Huron River, through an area full of Jack Pine trees, and even past a small strip of prairie where the daisies and goldenrod were getting ready to bloom. It was truly an information-packed walk. Thank you to Robert Ayotte for guiding this Walk Along the Huron with us and thank you to all of the participants who joined us for this event!
If you’re interested in joining us on a Bioreserve Project land assessment, please contact Kris at kolsson@hrwc.org.
