The Ile Camera
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Students explore nature on island
By Liz Hugel &Peter Rock
PUBLISHED: September 7, 2007
Earlier this summer the children from the Delray Neighborhood House learned that they would drive south to reach their destination.
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But when they got off the bus at the Grosse Ile Nature Area many felt like they had gone "up north."
Although most of them have never had the opportunity to travel to northern Michigan, they expect it be just like the woods and meadows at the southern tip of Grosse Ile.
The Grosse Ile Nature and Land Conservancy hosted a packed busload of children from Delray at the Grosse Ile Nature Area on Aug. 14.
The event included roughly 50 children between the ages of 6 and 12, along with their teen-age mentors.
"The children always look forward to this trip," said Peter Rock of the Grosse Ile Rotary Club.
For the third consecutive year the Grosse Ile Rotary Club has donated $10,000 to the Delray Neighborhood House to conduct its summer program.
About $4,000 pays for field trips; the balance pays for summer jobs for the teenage leaders who work there during the eight-week program.
Delray is an economically depressed and environmentally polluted neighborhood in southwest Detroit.
According to the 2000 U.S. Census, the median household income in Delray is $18,856, 53 percent of its residents are not part of the work force and only 43 percent of residents ages 25 and above have a high school diploma or equivalent.
As a result of the sponsors, some 100 neighborhood children get to play sports and games, receive academic tutoring and take weekly field trips.
The children were invited to the Grosse Ile Nature Area as part of the conservancy's environmental education outreach program.
Conservancy volunteers Terry Laesser, Ingo and Margarete Hasserodt, Peter Rock, Ken Tilp, Kim Chumney and Liz Hugel each accompanied a group of children along the trails.
The mentors were given clipboards with instructions to lead the younger children on a scavenger hunt. It included things to see, things to hear, things to touch and lots of trees and plants to identify, with pictures to help the leaders.
The list was put together by Margarete Hasserodt, main steward of the 40-acre nature area.
For a young Delray girl who was unable to walk, organizers found a solution. Monika Egerer, a volunteer from Grosse Ile High School, used her neighbor's golf cart to transport the preteen along the rough terrain.
Egerer made sure to take her close enough to feel the velvety softness of the staghorn sumac clusters.
Similarly, she experienced the sharp needles of the bull thistle and was able to see the egret fishing in the airport lagoon.
Natalie Ray, an environmental science student from University of Michigan- Dearborn, spoke to each group of children about the macroinvertebrates that live in Quarry Pond.
The children closely examined the specimens of the "bugs" preserved in vials. They searched for the small creatures in the freshly collected pond water and excitedly watched as one flitted over the surface of the water.
Ray explained to them that the presence of the macroinvertebrates and a wide variety of types indicated a "healthy" water body and high water quality. That wasn't quite what the children expected to hear, but nevertheless a good lesson to take home.
At the old seaplane base, the children were able to see a close-up of the large American lotus in full bloom. They learned how this plant is their state's official symbol of clean water and how the lotus beds are a great wildlife habitat.
Across the culvert, where the gar pike spawn in late May, the children met airport Manager Derek Thiel, who spoke to them about the activities at the airport, including deer control.
Before departing, the children gathered at the Native American fire circle, where they learned a little about Native American culture from Terry Ann Laesser.
She spoke of the symbolism of the fire circle components, the wood, the stones and the patterns. She told them the legend of the first fire and the importance that nature plays in bringing strength and wisdom, as well as in maintaining harmony and balance in their lives.
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