Muskegon Lake Nature Preserve

06/07/2026

Microforest planting session #3. On Thursday, May 21st, Twin Lake Elementary School kindergarten students, teachers and parents planted 125 native groundcover plants!

These groundcover plants will help suppress weeds, control soil erosion, retain moisture, and provide habitat for local wildlife.

As with the trees and shrubs planted earlier, the students planted, watered and placed a flag on every new plant. Watering was the favorite part of the process for many of them!

Thank you so very much to the students, teachers and parents for planting the first batch of groundcover plants in the microforest. You all did an awesome job! so

06/07/2026

Today's Saturdays with a Scientist was a "hands on" experience on how to compost with worms, naturally discarded food and yard waste to create nutrient-rich soil.

Presenters Darren and Audrey from Healthy Plant Worm Farm in Fremont, explained the entire cycle of composting with worms and brought hundreds of "special guests" to help tell the story.

It was a fascinating presentation and very educational. Thank you so much Darren and Audrey!!

06/06/2026

🌱 Saturdays with a Scientist: Composting! 🌱

Looking for something fun and educational to do this Saturday?

Join us tomorrow at the Muskegon Lake Nature Preserve for Saturdays with a Scientist, where we'll explore the fascinating world of composting! Learn how food scraps and yard waste can be transformed into nutrient-rich soil, and why composting matters with Healthy Plant Worm Farm!

📅 Saturday, June 6
⏰ 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
📍 Muskegon Lake Nature Preserve Pavilion
2529 Lake Ave, North Muskegon

This family-friendly program includes a short presentation followed by a fun hands-on activity. Children must be accompanied by an adult.

Free to attend (donations welcome)!

We hope you'll join us for a morning of science, nature, and discovery!

06/06/2026

06/05/2026

Thank you so much to Sabrina and her team from the Muskegon Conservation District and MLNP volunteers Susan and Kris (with Leeroy supervising) for removing 82 pounds of European Frogbit today!! Frogbit is a fast growing, invasive aquatic plant.

The morning started out cloudy, but about an hour and a half into the pull the rain started coming down hard and the work session ended early. Even though the weather did not cooperate for the full 3 hours, the removal of 82 pounds of frogbit was a huge success!

Thanks again to everyone who participated in the pull and worked so hard even in the rain!

06/05/2026

Volunteers needed! The Muskegon Conservation District will be conducting a European Frogbit pull Friday, June 5th from 9am till noon at the Muskegon Lake Nature Preserve.

European frogbit is an invasive aquatic plant and will be removed by hand-pulling it. MCD will provide waders, gloves, kayaks & PFDs,
trash bags & shrub rakes.

Please bring your own boots, a snack or lunch and a willingness to get a little muddy and make a big impact by helping restore and protect the beautiful natural area of the Muskegon Lake Nature Preserve.

Check out the photos below from last year's frogbit pull.

06/03/2026

The second planting event at the microforest took place on Saturday May 9th. The Muskegon and Grand Rapids Rotary Clubs planted native shrubs, potted bareroot native shrubs for later use and ran debris from the original clearing of the microforest site, through a chipper! Students from the Orchard View High School Interact Club also planted and potted shrubs!

John Noling, a Muskegon Rotary Club member and the driving force behind the MLNP microforest, headed up the team potting the bareroot shrubs.

Thanks again to the Muskegon Conservation District for providing their water buffalo.

By the end of the morning 210 native shrubs had been planted and watered!

Thank you so much to the Muskegon and Grand Rapids Rotary Club members and the Orchard View High School interact students. You all did an awesome job!!

06/02/2026

We would like to recognize individually, each group, that has participated in the planting of trees, shrubs and groundcover at the new MLNP microforest. Without their involvement and hard work this project would not be where it is today.

Initial planting began on Friday, April 24th, as a part of the United Way of the Lakeshore Day of Caring. United Way volunteers planted a mix of 257 native trees! As part of the planting process, every tree was watered. Thank you to the Muskegon Conservation District for the use of their water buffalo.

All 257 trees were planted in less than three hours! Thank you so much to each and every one of the United Way volunteers for their hard work and positive attitude!

Up next! The planting of native shrubs by the Muskegon and Grand Rapids Rotary Clubs.

05/30/2026

On April 24th of this year, the planting process at the new MLNP Microforest commenced. As part of the United Way Day of Caring, volunteers planted 257 native trees.

May 9th was the day for planting native shrubs. Members of the Muskegon and Grand Rapids Rotary Clubs planted 210 native shrub species.

On May 21st, students from Reeths Puffer Twin Lake Elementary School began the process of planting native groundcover plants. The kindergarten students, their teachers and parents planted 125 plants!

Reeths Puffer Pennsylvania Elementary School arrived on May 22nd and planted 125 additional native groundcover plants.

On May 27th, Reeths Puffer Central Elementary first graders planted 180 native groundcover plants and was the first group to pose in front of the posing tree! The microforest path was laid out to include access to this very unique shaped tree for family photo ops!

And finally, on May 29th, sixth grade students from Reeths Puffer Intermediate School finished planting 225 groundcover plants and an additional 30 shrubs!

Planting for this year is now complete! Watering and weeding will continue throughout the rest of the year.

Thank you so much to all the students, teachers & parents of Twin Lake, Pennsylvania and Central Elementary Schools, Reeths Puffer Intermediate School, Muskegon and Grand Rapids Rotary Club members and the United Way Day of Caring volunteers for your hard work in planting 890 native trees, shrubs and groundcover in the new MLNP microforest!

Soil prep work for phases 2 and 3 of the microforest will begin in August.

05/30/2026

Please meet at the blue pop-up tent near the Bike Staging area.