Mi Nature

10/14/2026

Two days of learning and connecting in Muskegon, November 5–6.

There's quite a range of things to explore at this year's MiCorps Annual Conference! From touring NOAA's R/V Laurentian and participating in hands-on workshops to learning about aquatic invasive species, groundwater, public health, and how lake monitoring data can inform local decisions, there's something for just about anyone interested in Michigan's waters. The conference brings together volunteers, researchers, students, natural resources professionals, and newcomers for two days of learning and connecting in Muskegon, November 5–6. Attending just Friday is an option, too!

Hotel booking deadline: October 22
Conference registration deadline: October 23

If you haven't yet, explore the agenda and register here: https://www.micorps.net/events/conference/2026

10/06/2026

Leaves are falling everywhere! Even in the floating bogs that stretch across the kettle ponds and lakes of Michigan. But how are there trees growing somewhere FLOATING? Floating Bogs are a unique habitat that resulted from centuries of sphagnum moss growing along the edges of the depressions formed by the glaciers. The glacial depressions known as kettles often filled with water and became stagnant lakes or pools. With a combination of still water and the relentlessly growing moss, the plant life near the water’s surface began to float whilst maintaining a diverse plant habitat on top. As the moss grows near the surface the old moss below joins the floating mat continually supporting the mass above the lake. This is due to the antibiotic and acidic properties of sphagnum moss. Mixed with the lack of oxygen in the uncirculated water little decomposition occurs to the moss. Hence a floating mat can form.

The Tamarack Bog pictured above is the Cedar Lake Bog viewable at the Eddy Discovery Center in the Waterloo State Recreation Area, Chelsea, MI.

10/01/2026

Didn't get enough of Fat Bear Week? Sign up for the latest Project WILD educator course.

WILD About Bears is now open! Register for Project WILD's latest online professional development course to learn more about the bears of North America and ways to get your students excited about these smart and curious mammals.

Target audience: Formal and non-formal educators who teach students in grades 3-8

Description: In this 3-hour self-paced course, you will learn more about the bears of North America and how to implement the activity “Limiting Factors: How Many Bears?” In the activity, students simulate bears foraging for food and resources to survive. As a group, students perform calculations based on the pounds of food collected during the activity and discuss limiting factors for bear populations. Course participants explore more about black bears, grizzly bears, and polar bears and their adaptations to survive in their specific habitats, bear safety for an expanding population, and meet bear biologists working to understand bear patterns. This mini course provides additional resources for teaching students about bears in the U.S.

For more information and the registration link to Conservation Learning Campus, please visit projectwild.org and click on "Online PD Courses for Educators."

09/28/2026

Did you know that Michigan Project Learning Tree (MI PLT) is housed within the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and delivered through a partnership with the Michigan Alliance for Environmental and Outdoor Education (MAEOE) and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI)?
Together, these partners help bring high-quality environmental education and professional development to educators across Michigan.
Through MI PLT, educators can:
🌳 Explore forests, trees, and natural resources
🔎 Engage students in hands-on, inquiry-based learning
🌱 Build environmental and forest literacy
📚 Connect environmental education to classroom curriculum
🌲 Take learning outdoors
🤝 Connect with a community of environmental educators
Our goal is simple: help educators give young people the knowledge, skills, and experiences they need to understand and care for the world around them.
And this year is a special one—Project Learning Tree is celebrating 50 years! 🎉
Join Michigan PLT as we celebrate this milestone at the MAEOE Conference in Flint and look ahead to the next 50 years of environmental education.

09/25/2026

If you didn’t hear the news yet from our pals at Michigan Trails and Greenways Alliance, this week was Trails Week!

To celebrate, here are three free activities that are perfect for hikers of all ages to enjoy on your next trail adventure. 🥾🌲☀️

You can find the full activity sheets (along with more educational resources) at https://www.michigan.gov/dnr/education/educators/programs-materials

Tomorrow is also National Public Lands Day, so make sure you take some time to explore and enjoy nature.

09/24/2026

If you are a Michigan resident bat, Beware! The horrific white-nose syndrome has swept across northern Michigan. Pictured above are two little brown bats (Myotis lucifugus) that are deceased from the fungus-based disease that has decimated bat populations in Northern Michigan. Little brown bats are one of the largest consumers of insects in the night sky during the summer months but in the frigid winters of the UP they cannot find their favorite source of food, bugs, so they find a warm, 50-degree cave to hibernate in.

Upwards of 10,000 bats would call a single cave their winter home prior to outbreaks. Now the same cave systems have just hundreds of individual bats. This white nose syndrome is brought into new cave systems from humans entering the caves… The fungus resides on human skin and clothes and can be brought into a new population when someone enters a bats home without following proper sanitization protocols. The fungus is not harmful to humans only to bats! So, if you’re a human and not a bat, if you see a cave don’t enter it to protect the hundreds of lives inside!

09/22/2026

Calling all aspiring foragers! We have a class tomorrow evening just for ladies to learn the basics of foraging with a certified forager. 🍄

Details:

September 23rd 6pm-8pm

Gillette Sand Dune Visitor Center
6585 Lake Harbor Rd
Norton Shores, MI 49441

Join a certified foraging expert to learn all about the basics of safe foraging practices. This program includes a lesson on uses of foraged finds as well as a walk through the woods to find what is in season! Learn about what it takes to become a foraging expert and sample some of the provided goods.

Cost is $30 (cash at the door)

A Recreation Passport is required for vehicle entry into Hoffmaster State Park.

This class is part of the DNR’s Becoming an Outdoors Woman program, which breaks down the barriers to female participation in outdoor activities, while building useful skills, in a fun and experiential way. Learn more at Michigan.gov/BOW.

To register and for more information, email [email protected].

09/18/2026

A great reason to visit Wolf Lake State Fish Hatchery, in Mattawan.

🐟Meet Our New Lake Sturgeon 🐟

This little one journeyed all the way from the Sturgeon Rearing Facility on the famed Black River to Wolf Lake to become our ambassador lake sturgeon.

It is 3 1/2 months old, weighs a mighty 20 grams, and measures about 7" long

Our new friend is sure to melt your heart 🥰 with its bony scutes, upturned snout and ability to make anyone marvel at its prehistoric look 🦕

Come on out this weekend to meet our newest critter!

09/16/2026

We support online learning resources! Find virtual content for your classroom here! From virtual hatchery tours to nature at school webinars and the 60-second snakes series!

We've put together an extensive list of links and materials to provide kids and their caregivers with plenty to do. Resources include videos from our state park interpreters, outdoor scavenger hunts, reading materials, free apps, websites, virtual tours and more.

09/11/2026