GROSSE ILE — Some local preschooler's got the opportunity to explore a little known area of the island.
Three- and 4-year-olds from Building Blocks Learning Center spent the day at the Grosse Ile Nature and Land Conservancy.
The nature center rests on a former missile base. In 1995 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency granted stewardship of the area to members of the conservancy,
Margarete Hasserodt, a member of the conservancy, helped the children learn more about nature when she led them on a hike around the property to a vacant sand-filled lot. There, the children mixed wildflower seeds with the sand, sowing them by sprinkling them out of plastic cups.
Hasserodt said that of planting gave the best opportunity for the flowers to grow and bloom in the springtime.
Next, the children made all-natural birdfeeders. They took pinecones tied with ribbon and filled with suet, and rolled them in birdseed to make the feeders.
Not only were the children able to be creative, but they also were able to observe.
They observed milkweed seedlings and learned how they grow and came out of their seedpods. They were able to observe a turtle egg hill and to see empty eggshells from recently hatched turtles.
The children were able to see the last of the birds that had not yet flown away for the winter, including great blue herons and egrets. The preschoolers also climbed the oldest object on the island, a glacial rock
Hasserodt said the children had a good time and were very excited.
She said members of the conservancy use the area as a learning center throughout the year, except during the coldest of the winter months.
The Nature Conservancy will be open Thursdays and Saturdays through the end of October, and will then close until the end of April.
According to conservancy literature: "The nature area is a unique blend of wetland, marsh, woods and savannah. Because of the diversity of the land, flora and fauna, it is an exceptional area for study. …
"Children should always be able to find new and interesting experiences as nature proceeds through the various season completing its task."
The conservancy is a volunteer project in cooperation with the EPA Large Lakes Research Station.
The 40-acre marsh and upland area features several trails as well as multiple stands of dogwood, marshland and various types of flowers, and an EPA research quarry in which fishing is prohibited.
The entrance to the conservancy is on East River Road and the nature area itself backs up to Gibraltar Bay.
Admission is free. For more information, contact 1-734-676-6657, visit www.ginlc.org or, write to Grosse Ile Nature and Land Conservancy, P.O. Box 12, Grosse Ile, MI 48138.
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