Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Howard Christiansen Nature Center! Upcoming Events..

PRESERVED HABITATS --article from www.lilysfrogpad.com ---
Habitat Protection Areas (HPA)
Are large tree protection areas in which a complete habitat of plants, soils, water regimes, animal life and nutrients work together to produce clean air, pure water, rich soils, and a population of animal life living and growing off of the biological productivity and diversity of the place.
Forest floors are among nature’s most efficient forms of storm water management methods. Rain falling on tree canopy begins to be managed as soon as raindrops fall on leaves and continues until root uptake water hours after the storm event. One of the most effective storm water best management practices that will preserve trees and manage storm water is to preserve natural habitat and remnant forest stands on development sites.
Rain that does make it to the ground is immediately absorbed into the forest duff, a thick organic four (4) to six (6) inch layer of fallen leaves, decaying leaf matter and native soil mulch. Finally, when rain actually gets to the surface soil level it too is quickly absorbed due to the natural porosity of the soil caused by root growth soil insects and ground creatures who mine the soil for food and nutrients.
Tree Protection Area
Trees may consume hundreds of gallons of water during certain weather periods and therefore become natural storm water BMP’s. Tree protection areas (TPA) protect critical root zones (CRZ) on special protected trees. Preserving complete tree biology is an important sustainability principle that all landscape codes should recognize.
Tree protection areas (TPA) are small habitat preservation areas that are set aside an area around the trunk of a tree to be preserved on a development site. The purpose of the TPA is to protect the critical root zone (CRZ) of the tree and to prevent damage or interference during construction. This area is established in several ways including tree size, diameter of the crown, diameter of the tree at DBH, and location of the feeder roots where most of the water and plant nutrients are taken up by the tree.
 
WILDLIFE: article from www.lilysfrogpad.com --

We often have no appreciation of the value of the most potentially rich habitats, instead clearing them away in the interests of tidiness. Something as apparently simple and useless as rotting wood supports up to 1700 different species of invertebrate. Rotting wood on its own provides an amazing variety of different microhabitats. These also include the fruiting bodies of fungi actively decaying the wood.
Larger animals such as Roe deer also roam through the wood. While we are unlikely to actually see them, the signs of their presence will be all around, from the territorial scratchings of the males, made on saplings, to the dung which they deposit as they go. While this dung may be undesirable waste to us, there is no such thing as waste in nature and it will be eagerly colonized as soon as it falls. The rich resource of invertebrates living in and emerging from the dung provides food for any number of predators, such as beetles, birds, small mammals and bats.
 HOWARD CHRISTIANSEN NATURE CENTER!
LOCATION : MICHIGAN,
Directions Coming From Grand Rapids:
- Take US 131 north to exit #104 (17 mile rd). The exit is designated “M-46 to Muskegon or Cedar Springs.”
- Follow 17 Mile Rd. west for approximately 6 miles to Red Pine Dr.
- Turn North (right) onto Red Pine Dr. Continue north to 18 Mile Rd.
- Turn west (left) onto 18 mile Rd. take this for less than 1/4 mile, and then turn north (right) on Red Pine Dr.
- Continue for about 1.5 miles. HCNC’s west entrance will be on the east (right) side of Red Pine Dr.

Directions From North West Kent County
- Take M-37 (Alpine Ave.) north to Sparta Ave., continuing through Sparta.
- Be sure to continue north on Sparta Ave. where Sparta Ave. splits off to the right
- Continue to 18 Mile Rd. and turn east (right)
- Travel east for one mile to Red Pine Dr.
- Turn north (left) on Red Pine Dr.
- Continue for about 1.5 miles. HCNC’s west entrance will be on the east (right) side of Red Pine Dr.



Upcoming Events

 
photos shot by Sarah Kenney (SarikaAshley) no form of copyright allowed.
Articles & Information from The Howard Christiansen Nature Center - www.lilysfrogpad.com
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