OTG Jr: Haslett Students Make Big Impact at Rose Lake SGA

lschultz • May 30, 2019

Between 98 students and 12 chaperones, Haslett schools made a big impact at Rose Lake State Game Area last week.On Thursday, May 23 and Friday, May 24, elementary students, teachers, and relatives from the Haslett school district came out to Rose Lake SGA for a day of volunteering and conservation education. The sites included in this two-day OTG Jr. project were specifically chosen to be managed as grassland, and this habitat restoration initiative will support an abundance of wildlife and pollinator species.

In addition to the native grass and flower seeds provided by the Michigan DNR, the students also brought their own milkweed seedlings to plant at the sites. The students had grown these plants from seeds at school, and they made a nice addition to the other milkweed plugs provided by the DNR for the event.

After seeding and planting the area, students spent the remainder of their volunteer time pulling invasive garlic mustard from the field edges and roadside. Between the two school groups on Thursday and Friday, a total of 53 garbage bags of garlic mustard were removed from 3 acres of land around the SGA. With each bag weighing approximately 20 lbs., these volunteers pulled an impressive total of 1,060 lbs. of the invasive species in just two days!

Following a great lunch provided by Tommy’s Pizza located in Bath, MI, students were given the opportunity to cycle through educational and recreational activities at the Hal and Jean Glassen Shooting Education Center at the Rose Lake Shooting Range.Shaun ran the archery station outdoors while Autumn and I ran Michigan mammal and waterfowl identification stations indoors. Each student was encouraged to have fun and grow their knowledge of Michigan wildlife.

If you or someone you know is interested in volunteering for wildlife and improving habitat in Michigan, please take part in one of our many upcoming OTG events! Visit our OTG webpage HERE for more information and to register for an event that interests you or reach out to me, Makhayla LaButte, at mlabutte@mucc.org.

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