Thurston Nature Center

Thurston Nature Center

The Thurston Nature Center is located just north of Thurston Elementary School on Prairie and on the south side of Bluett Road, across from Clague Middle School, in northeast Ann Arbor, Washtenaw County, Michigan. The Nature Center was dedicated as a Conservation Education Reserve by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources in 1968, and celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2008. School classes have used the nature center as part of Ann Arbor Public Schools' Environmental Education Program for decades, and the area is enjoyed by many people in the community. Fall & Spring workdays help with trail maintenance and weedy plant control, and an active "adopt-a-tree" program involves community members in tree maintenance. The Nature Center is managed by the volunteer Thurston Nature Center Committee, a subcommittee of the Parent-Teacher Organization at Thurston Elementary School. A Land Use Policy Statement was agreed upon in 2003.

The 24-acre nature area has a 7-acre shallow pond, called Thurston Pond, an oak-hickory woodlot, a vernal pond, a small area planted with prairie species, and other areas with grass or trees and shrubs and flowers. Common birds around the pond include great blue herons, egrets, mallards, and Canada geese. Racoons and skunks are seen in the area. A 2008 article in the Ann Arbor Chronicle describes the Thurston Nature Center - and its restoration needs - very well. Recent 2009 TNCC activities have included more work days to maintain trails and space around trees, and planting 20 oak trees to start an oak savanna using a recent grant from the Community Forestry Grant Program of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. 2009 saw the movie "Flipped" being filmed on part of the Thurston Prairie, as well as improvements to the pond's berm and new Aqua-Swirlers being installed!

During some periods of very heavy rains, water overflows from Thurston Pond into Millers Creek, which in turn flows into the Huron River. The pond is home to many painted turtles and snapping turtles. However, the biodiversity of the aquatic plant and animal life in the pond has declined substantially over the last several years, and now the fish community consists of just black bullheads, carp, and goldfish along with a few other fish species. Indeed, conditions in Thurston Pond have deteriorated so much that the pond can no longer be used by the Ann Arbor Public Schools for classes about aquatic life, and the majority of the Thurston Nature Center Committee voted in 2005 to adopt a comprehensive plan to rehabilitate (i.e., restore the ecological health and biodiversity of) Thurston Pond. To see an example of Thurston Pond in lower water conditions, which we are trying to solve through restoration projects, please visit Figure 6 of our pond restoration plan.

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