On the Ground Jr: Tree Planting/Invasive Removal at Elmwood Township State Game Area

Katelyn Helsel • May 21, 2025

On Tuesday, May 13, 2025, 28 7th-12th grade students and faculty from Cass City Jr/Sr High School partnered with MUCC’s On the Ground Junior (OTG Jr.) program and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for a tree planting at Elmwood Township State Game Area in Tuscola County. Students also participated in removing invasive species from a different site at Gagetown State Game Area, also in Tuscola County. In total, students improved approximately 2 acres of wildlife habitat directly through this project between both sites.



Students Plant Apple Trees

The students got right to work and were eager to get some trees in the ground. They started out at Elmwood Township State Game Area planting 30 apple trees along an old fence row. Some students split up into groups to plant each tree, while others focused on unloading trees and staging them along the fence row. The trees were spaced around 20-30 feet apart to ensure that when they grow larger, they will not outcompete each other for sunlight and other resources. Funding for these trees was given through a written grant. 


Apple trees are an important food source for many wildlife species. White-tailed deer, bears, foxes, turkeys, grouse, squirrels, and songbirds are some of the many animals that include apples as part of their diet. Songbirds will also use apple trees as a cover source to build their nests and protect themselves from the elements. Common species of songbirds that regularly use apple trees include bluebirds, flycatchers, robins, ruby-throated hummingbirds, and orioles (University of Maine).

Students Remove Invasive Autumn Olive

At Gagetown State Game Area, students worked on removing invasive autumn olive from an open field area. They primarily used loppers and handsaws to cut down existing shrubs, being cautious to not cut down any native species. The students also stacked the autumn olive branches into brush piles that will benefit rabbits, salamanders, snakes, ground-nesting birds, and other wildlife. 


Invasive species like autumn olive are important to remove because they cause harm to local ecosystems. Autumn olive grows aggressively, spreads rapidly to new areas, outcompetes native plants for resources, and negatively changes the chemistry of the soil to prevent these native plants from growing. It is also extremely difficult to get rid of due to its hardiness and ability to tolerate a variety of environments. Additionally, autumn olive berries are a low-quality food source that provide wildlife species with little to no nutritional value.

Special Activity: Grid Survey



Students also participated in a bird nesting grid survey led by MUCC and the Michigan DNR. The goal of this survey was to demonstrate real methods that wildlife biologists use to conduct surveys for certain species across a landscape. Students were shown how to walk along survey transects with appropriate spacing and distance. They saw many birds and snakes in the tall grass and made other interesting observations along the way. 

Learn More

If you are a schoolteacher interested in organizing an OTG Jr event with us, please contact our Habitat Program and Partnerships Coordinator Olivia Triltsch at otriltsch@mucc.org. These projects fill up quickly, so don’t wait! We would love to help you foster the next generation of young conservationists.



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