Thurston Nature Center Committee (TNCC) Meeting Minutes
April 20, 2008
In attendance: Neal Foster,
Mike Conboy, Tom Edsall, Colin Brooks, Bram
and Lia Van Leer.
The minutes from the March
18, 2008 meeting were approved with one small change. Comments were also made about improving the
readability of the Thurston Nature
Center web page, especially font
& background page colors.
Next Neal Foster reviewed
the April 19th through 20th, 2008 spreading of wood chips
around Thurston Pond. We had 17 people on
Saturday and 23 people on Sunday, with at least 10 kids each day. Cub Scout Pack 160 from Thurston Elementary
was a big help, with a large number turning on Sunday. Pictures are available on Colin’s Flickr site
at http://www.flickr.com/photos/26340564@N02/sets/72157605226206794/.
Mike Conboy reported on the successful prairie burn on April 8th, 2008. Girl Scouts may come and plant wildflower
seeds now that the burn is completed.
And no fire trucks came this year!
Mike also reported that 7 people newly adopted 20 more trees around the Nature
Center. Also, Georgia White-Epperson is planting 3
dogwoods. Sassafras may be available
from the Huron Hills Golf Course, but we don’t have sources for mountain ash
& red maple which we would like to plant.
On new proposal ideas, Neal reported that there are 45
environmental and education foundations, 7 of them in Washtenaw County,
according to “New Enterprises at Work”, a resource that helps non-profits raise
money. Dredging may cost $80k-$110k, and
may include the need to put 6” of topsoil on top of the dredge spoil.
We also discussed what it would cost to re-design the Pond
outlet, which Scott Diersk from J.F. New may
be able to help with. We talked about
improving the island as wildlife habitat and possibly getting Scirpus reeds to
grow to help with turbidity (sediment) problems. Maintaining a vernal pool in the woods was
another idea, as was creating the oak savannah at the northern end of the
school grounds near the temporary dirt pile.
We also talked about establishing a “restoration fund” that
people could donate to, especially to help with smaller projects.
Submitted by Colin Brooks, TNCC Secretary-Treasurer, colinmargie@gmail.com